HOME DEPARTMENT

Police: Foreign Nationals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign police officers are operating in the UK by country of origin.

Damian Green: holding answer 14 February 2013
	The requested information is not collected by the Home Office.

Stop and Search

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many persons arrested following a stop-and-search in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 were aged (i) under 18 years, (ii) between 18 and 21 years, (iii) between 21 and 25 years, (iv) between 25 and 30 years and (v) over 30 years;
	(2)  how many people subject to a stop-and-search in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 were aged (i) under 18 years, (ii) between 18 and 21 years, (iii) between 21 and 25 years, (iv) between 25 and 30 years and (v) over 30 years.

Damian Green: Data on the age of persons stopped and searched or arrested after a stop and search are not held centrally.
	Data on the main stop and search powers used by police in England and Wales are published by the Home Office on an annual basis in the National Statistics series 'Police Powers and Procedures'. Latest published data cover the period up to the financial year 2010-11 and are included in the latest internet-only release, which is available via:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/police-research/police-powers-procedures-201011/

Written Questions: Government Responses

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to respond to Question 129321, tabled by the hon. Member for Mid Sussex on 19 November 2012.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 25 January 2013
	I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given on 25 February 2013, Official Report, columns 155-56W.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Government Procurement Card

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Attorney-General what the mean average spend using a Government Procurement Card was per member of staff in (a) the Law Officers' Departments and (b) each of its arm's length bodies in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012.

Oliver Heald: The following table contains information on the average spend per government procurement card held in the Law Officer's Departments.
	
		
			  Total GPC expenditure (£) Total number of cards held Average spend per card (£) 
			 Department 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 
			 Attorney-General's Office 27,437 34,104 8 9 3,430 3,789 
			 HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate 12,174 9,331 3 5 4,058 1,866 
			 Crown Prosecution Service(1) 556,610 223,657 195 122 2,854 1,833 
			 Serious Fraud Office 24,686 32,091 12 12 2,057 2,674 
			 Treasury Solicitor's Department(2) 235,450 173,892 47 52 5,010 3,344 
			 (1) During this period a number of inactive cards may have been held by the CPS. These are not recorded in the table and have not been used to calculate average expenditure per card. (2 )In addition to this data, prior to 1 June 2012, TSol GPC cards were used to settle the central travel provider account monthly. This amounted to £301,814 in calendar year 2011 and £146,254 in calendar year 2012.

Public Appointments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many people he appointed to public bodies in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; (i) how many and (ii) what proportion of those appointees were (A) black or from an ethnic minority, (B) Hindu, (C) Muslim and (D) Chinese in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Grieve: None.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Attorney-General how many staff are based in each property used by the Law Officers' Departments.

Oliver Heald: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) currently uses just one property in Cockspur street, London. The SFO has 339 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff who are contracted to work in this building on either a full or part time basis.
	There are 41.88 FTE AGO staff at 20 Victoria street and 20 OBR FTE staff.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has a total estate of 79 premises of which 68 are occupied. A table containing information on the number of FTE posts in each building as at April 2012 has been deposited in the Library of the House.
	Some CPS buildings also accommodate non-CPS staff on a permanent or temporary basis, such as contractors and police, no provision has been made for these personnel in this answer.
	Tsol and HMCPSI staff are located in several buildings, the details of which are as follows:
	
		
			  Staff (FTE) 
			 Building Permanent Temporary Total 
			 TSol    
			 One Kemble Street, London WC2B 4TS 693.26 117.6 810.86 
			 2-4 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DH 21.18 1 22.18 
			 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ 81.18 0 81.18 
			 9 Millbank, c/o l7 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR 80.07 1 81.07 
			 Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BT 50.16 1 51.16 
			 Southern House, Wellesley Grove, Croydon, CR9 1DY 0 0 0 
			 Total 925.85 120.6 1,046.45 
			     
			 HMCPSI    
			 One Kemble Street, London WC2B 4TS 24.31 — 24.31 
			 United House, Piccadilly, York YO1 9PQ 8.31 — 8.31 
			 Total 32.62 — 32.62

TRANSPORT

A120

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many collisions there have been at the junctions of the A120 known as Hare's Green and Pellens Corner since junction improvements were completed in 2012; and if he will consider applying a 40 mph speed restriction to this stretch of road until such time as a roundabout or grade separated junction is constructed.

Stephen Hammond: Since safety improvements to the A120 junctions were completed on 3 April 2012 there have been have been three serious and six slight personal injury accidents.
	In view of continuing collisions occurring at these junctions, the Highways Agency has brought forward a road safety audit, usually commissioned 12 months post completion of the scheme, to review junction performance, and has also commissioned a further speed survey. The Highways Agency will use this information to consider any further measures that may be required at the junctions to improve safety.

Bus Services: Concessions

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners who will claim free bus passes in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK in (i) 2014, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2016.

Norman Baker: Concessionary Travel is a devolved policy area so this question is a matter for the Scottish Government.

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what progress his Department has made on implementing the Cycle to Work guarantee;
	(2)  whether his Department has signed up to the Government's Cycle to Work scheme.

Norman Baker: The table below sets out the progress being made by the Department of Transport and its six Executive Agencies on implementing the Cycle to Work guarantee and the Cycle to Work scheme.
	
		
			 Agency Progress on implementing the Cycle to Work guarantee Signed up to the Cycle to Work scheme 
			 Department for Transport (Central) DFT(C) The Department provides lockers and showers facilities, and secure cycle parking facilities and a bike pump for staf f use. All staff have access to the Cycle to Work scheme. 
			 Driving Standards Agency (DSA) Since joining the scheme DSA has improved facilities where feasible. The main administrative sites have secure cycle shelters, showering facilities and tools for basic maintenance. The Agency also provides Sheffield hoops and showers at test centres where space and financial restrictions allow. DSA plan to trial the use of enclosed cycle lockers at a test centre were there is a history of vandalism and staff are concerned about the safety of their bicycles. All staff have access to the Cycle to Work scheme. 
		
	
	
		
			 Highways Agency(HA) The Highways Agency meets most of the commitments set out in the Cycle to Work guarantee in the main office buildings. The only commitment which is not met is the Cycle to Work Scheme but staff can apply for an advance of salary to purchase their own bike. Whilst some of the commitments are met at Regional Control Centres and outstations, cycling is not a practical way to travel to these buildings. This is because they are mainly in remote locations that can only be accessed from the motorway network or major trunk roads. The Highways Agency took the decision to discontinue the Cycle to Work salary sacrifice scheme in 2010 when the scheme was closed to new applications. The decision has been reviewed subsequently and remains closed to new applicants. The agency provides an interest free cycle loan to staff. 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) Where feasible, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) provides secure, safe and accessible cycle parking facilities at its offices. To further support this and encourage cycling to work, showers, changing and locker facilities are provided. These facilities are provided in all of Swansea campus sites which includes Swansea regional office and where more than 5,000 staff are based. The facilities are also provided at more than 50 per cent of DVLA's 38 regional based offices. DVLA is not signed up to the Cycle to Work scheme but does provide an interest free cycle loan to staff. 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) VCA provides secure, safe and accessible cycle parking and good quality shower/changing and locker facilities for all staff who want to make use of them. VCA organises regular 'Bike Roadshows' in conjunction with the local authority for staff to have their bikes serviced. Staff are regularly informed of the scheme electronically by regular bulletins. All staff have access to the Cycle to Work scheme. 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Where space has allowed the agency has implemented secure, safe and accessible bike parking facilities, good quality changing and locker facilities for all staff who want them in all locations. In HQ (Southampton) the agency . has negotiated with the local authority for staff to use their bike doctor service. In other locations staff are helped to locate similar services. MCA have implemented a plan that includes targets for take-up, training and incentives to cycle. All staff have access to the Cycle to Work scheme. 
			 Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA) VOSA has not implemented the 'Cycle to Work guarantee" as it cannot comply with some of the requirements. Due to the nature of the business it is not possible to guarantee safe and secure storage and shower facilities at all sites across the UK, and with the increase in privately owned Authorised Testing Facilities, it cannot be guaranteed that they will offer these either. All staff have access to the Cycle to Work scheme

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Databases

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many companies are registered to have access to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database of registered vehicles; and under what conditions such access is granted.

Stephen Hammond: At present, 50 private companies have arrangements in place with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to make electronic requests for vehicle keeper information. Five of these companies also act as intermediaries, providing information to a further 216 companies. An additional 36 private companies make requests via electronic links on behalf of local authorities.
	The lawful purposes for which data may be requested are specified under contract. Companies that are not subject to formal regulation must belong to a relevant accredited trade association and must satisfactorily serve a six-month probationary period, making manual requests before they are permitted to establish an electronic link.

Driving Under Influence: Drugs

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential effect of the proposed drug driving offences in the Crime and Courts Bill [Lords] on the (a) size of the prison population, (b) number of community sentences and (c) training requirements of court officials.

Stephen Hammond: In completing the impact assessment, the Department liaised with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice where we estimate that each year approximately (a) 279 people will serve a custodial sentence and (b) 1,694 people will receive a community order sentence once the provisions are in force. We do not anticipate any additional training requirements for court officials as the new drug driving offence will be very similar to the existing drink-driving offence. The impact assessment for the new drug driving offence is available on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/legislation/crime-courts-part3/

East Coast Railway Line

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average monthly payment to the Government made by (a) National Express and (b) East Coast is in respect of services operated on the east coast main line.

Norman Baker: holding answer 25 February 2013
	For the fiscal year 2008-09, the total payment made by National Express to the Government in respect of services operated on the east coast main line was £90.85 million and this equates to a monthly payment of £7.57 million. In the following year, until the time of termination, the average monthly payment to Government was £20.4 million.
	In the fiscal year 2011-12, the total payment made by East Coast to the Government in respect of services operated on the east coast main line was £187.7 million and this equates to a monthly payment of £15.64 million. For 2012-13, the Department is expecting the average monthly payments by East Coast to the Government to be of a similar value.

Rescue Services: Belfast

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre Belfast was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in (a) December 2012 and (b) January 2013.

Stephen Hammond: Belfast Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in:
	(a) December 2012—on 40 shifts (14 day/26 night);
	(b) January 2013—on 43 shifts (14 day/29 night).
	These situations are mitigated by ‘MRCC pairing’ where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of MRCC Belfast, mutual support is available through a fixed link from MRCC Stornoway and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland, Aberdeen, Liverpool or Holyhead.

Sick Leave

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many days of paid sickness leave per individual member of staff are authorised in his Department on an annual basis.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport and its six Executive Agencies provide sickness absence data in quarterly returns to the Cabinet office. These are summarised in the following table:-
	
		
			 Time Period Total Days Lost To Sickness Absence (12 Month Period) Average Working Days Lost Per Full Time Equivalent Member Of Staff 
			 01/10/07 to 30/09/08 180057.00 9.3 
			 01/10/08 to 30/09/09 153932.72 8.1 
			 01/10/09 to 30/09/10 148928.29 8 
			 01/10/10 to 30/09/11 135875.89 7.7 
			 01/10/11 to 30/09/12 130964.54 7.8

Sick Leave

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reduce sickness absence in his Department.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport and its six Executive Agencies have a number of measures in place to reduce sickness absence and enable staff to maintain good levels of attendance. These are regularly reviewed to align with best practice and to take legislation into account.

Yorkshire and the Humber

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff of his Department are employed in (a) Hull and (b) East Yorkshire.

Norman Baker: As at 31 January 2013, the Department for Transport and its six Executive Agencies employ 35 members of staff in Hull and 80 in East Yorkshire.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what occupation costs of each type are incurred for each property used by her Department.

Theresa Villiers: My Department uses three properties, one in London and two in Northern Ireland. A breakdown of the occupation costs by type for each property for the current financial year to date, is as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Rent Rates Other charges 
			 11 Millbank, London 309,406 94,451 297,766 
			 Stormont House, Belfast 44,575 156,735 107,765 
			 Hillsborough Castle — 48,660 119,309

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) total floor space and (b) floor space measured in square metres per full-time equivalent post is of properties used by her Department.

Theresa Villiers: My Department uses three properties, one in London (Millbank) and two in Northern Ireland (Stormont House and Hillsborough Castle).
	It would not be appropriate to provide details of floor space in square metres per full-time equivalent member of staff as each property is measured in total space rather than office accommodation. Details of the total floor space and number of full-time equivalent staff based at each property are set out as follows:
	
		
			  Total floor space (square metres) Full-time equivalent staff 
			 Millbank 3,098 46.6 
			 Stormont House 3,357 92.86 
			 Hillsborough Castle 4,226 16.55

Food

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on (a) food policy on provenance, (b) horsemeat and (c) food labelling; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with the Irish government on (a) food policy on provenance, (b) horsemeat and (c) food labelling; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: I have had several discussions on these matters with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson). I have also spoken twice to the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development and I discussed these matters with the Tánaiste when I visited Dublin on 11 February.
	The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning), discussed the same issues with the Northern Ireland Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Belfast on 13 February.
	Following my second discussion with the DARD Minister I issued a press statement expressing my confidence in the Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme and the reassurance it gives to consumers who purchase meat with the Farm Quality Assured logo that it is wholesome, safe and free from unnatural substances.
	The text of my statement can be accessed at:
	http://www.nio.gov.uk/Media-Centre/News

Food: Waste

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much surplus food was thrown away by her Department in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Michael Penning: My Department does not keep records of any surplus food which may be discarded. During the purchasing, preparation and serving of food, considerable care is taken to ensure that any wastage is kept to an absolute minimum.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are based in each property used by her Department.

Michael Penning: My Department has staff based in three properties, Millbank in London and Stormont House and Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland. The numbers of staff in each are 43, 94 and 17, respectively.

PRIME MINISTER

EU Budget

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Prime Minister what the direct impact was on the budget of the Connecting Europe facility (CEF) of the changes to the EU Commission budget agreed at the last European Council.

Greg Clark: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	February 2013 European Council agreed the overall limit on the EU budget for 2014-20. By working with like-minded allies, the UK delivered a real-terms cut in multi-year EU budget frameworks for the first time in history.
	For the Connecting Europe Facility this agreed a budget of €19.3 billion from heading 1A and a further €10 billion transfer from heading 1B (2011 prices, commitments), representing a substantial increase on equivalent spending in 2007-13.

EU Budget

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Prime Minister what the percentage reduction was to agricultural funding agreed as part of the changes to the EU Commission budget agreed at the last European Council.

Greg Clark: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	The common agriculture policy budget agreed at the February European Council represents a 13% real terms reduction compared to 2007-13.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Department of Human Resources and Change

John Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much the Department of Human Resources and Change cost in the last 12 months; and how many staff it employs.

John Thurso: The cost of running the Department for the last completed financial year (2011-12) was £7.48 million including employers’ pension contributions. The forecast cost for the current financial year (2012-13) is £7.30 million. 89.5 full-time equivalent staff were employed as at 31 December 2012. In addition to core human resources and change work, the Department provides or manages a number of other services including the safety, health and well-being service, information rights and information security, the travel office, diversity and inclusion, the nursery, Westminster gym and the House of Commons contribution to the cost of the parliamentary archives.

Meat

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the House of Commons Catering and Retail Services have made of its sourcing of meat.

John Thurso: All fresh meat purchased by the House of Commons Catering Service is sourced from highly certified and reputable suppliers that undergo stringent checks and regular audit inspections. Our suppliers are certified by either the British Retail Consortium (global standards for safety and quality certification) or the European Food Safety Inspection Service. Our suppliers have long-standing ties with English Beef and Lamb Executive and the British Pig Executive. The suppliers are members of the National Association of Catering Butchers and are also certified under the Quality Assured Meat scheme; two of the three are Red Tractor Licensees while the other works with a number of Freedom Food approved farms.
	Catering Services work only with catering butchers that operate robust quality control and traceability systems able to trace all meat through the supply chain back to its farm-assured origins. Any meat prepared for sale as mince is either prepared in-house by our own qualified and experienced butcher, or else produced by our suppliers from prime cuts that are fully traceable back to source. The Catering Service purchases a small number of prepared dishes through a third party supplier. Four of the products purchased: beef and onion pie, steak and kidney pie, steak and kidney suet pudding and Italian meatballs have been tested and no trace of equine DNA has been found; these products remain on the menus.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Art Works: Embassies

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she plans to take to (a) display and (b) showcase new British artists and designers in UK embassies; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Government Art Collection (DCMS) displays and promotes works of art by British artists in government buildings in the UK and around the world. Works by new British artists are showcased in these locations although for the last two years there has been a moratorium on the purchase of works of art. Over the next year new displays of contemporary art are planned for several UK embassies.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps she has taken to simplify the roll-out of broadband in rural areas.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is making rapid progress in taking forward the proposals announced on 7 September to facilitate superfast broadband roll-out in rural, and indeed, all areas of the country. Legislation to enable the relaxation of prior approval planning requirements for broadband street cabinets and overhead lines is currently going through Parliament under the Growth and Infrastructure Bill. We have asked the Law Commission to consider a wayleave regime that supports today's communications infrastructure and we expect them to make recommendations to Government by February 2013. We are also supporting the Department for Transport's production of new guidance to be published shortly on issuing permit schemes for street works which will also simplify the process for superfast broadband roll-out. All of these measures are part of a complementary package to enable broadband roll-out in rural areas and are a vital support to the Government's ambition to have the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015.

Merseyside

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department has (a) committed and (b) spent in the Merseyside region in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013 to date.

Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not record this information centrally, and to collate it could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

TREASURY

Bank Services

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the Office of Fair Trading's recent review of the level of account switching between banks.

Greg Clark: holding answer 6 February 2013
	The findings of the OFT review echo those of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) which concluded that the low levels of switching were a potential barrier to competition. The ICB recommended introducing a new switching service to address this problem.
	The Government is committed to a competitive banking sector that delivers good results for customers and for the economy. That is why we have acted on this recommendation and secured an industry commitment to deliver a new seven-day account switching service by September 2013. This service will be free to use, and come with a guarantee to protect customers against financial loss.

Business: Loans

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to ensure state-owned banks are supporting economic enterprise.

Greg Clark: The Government's shareholdings in the Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland are managed on a commercial and arm's length basis by UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI), a company which is wholly owned by the Government. UKFI's role is to manage the investments, not to manage the banks.
	The Government has a range of schemes to support enterprise and lending, in which both Lloyds and RBS participate. For example, the Funding for Lending Scheme is helping improve credit conditions for businesses by reducing interest rates, and improving the availability of credit to small businesses. The scheme incentivises all banks to increase their lending by linking cheaper funding to increases in net lending.

EU Budget

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Exchequer paid in respect of the UK's contribution to the EU budget in 2013; and how much he expects the Exchequer to pay towards the EU budget in 2014 under the terms of the Multi Annual Financial Framework.

Greg Clark: UK's contributions to the EU budget are made on a monthly basis. As such we do not yet have an outturn figure for 2013. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) provides independent forecasts. The most recent forecast was published in December 2012 and can be found in Table 2.19 of Economic and Fiscal Outlook supplementary fiscal tables at:
	http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-december-2012
	The OBR will update its forecasts at the time of Budget 2013.

Fuels: Smuggling

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to target and arrest criminals involved in fuel smuggling.

Sajid Javid: Fuel fraud, including smuggling, is the joint top priority for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in Northern Ireland. HMRC is an active participant in the Cross Border Fuel Group, a forum which enables collaborative working by partner agencies north and south. HMRC is benefiting from increased intelligence, not least as a result of this collaboration, and is increasingly making use of forensic technology to target criminals.
	HMRC policy is to arrest any individuals suspected of involvement in fuel fraud, as long as it is proportionate. Where there is a sufficiency of evidence HMRC reports them to the PPS for prosecution. Civil penalties may also be applied to lower level misdemeanours that would not warrant criminal action.

ICT

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) start date, (b) original planned completion date, (c) expected completion date, (d) planned cost and (e) expected costs is for each information technology project over £1 million undertaken by his Department and its executive agencies since 1 April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials take the necessary steps within their power to ensure value for money in all procurement, including in relation to information technology projects.
	There have been two such projects undertaken since 1 April 2010. The ‘Fast Forward’ project, which updated Treasury systems in line with advances in technology, came in £205,000 less than the planned cost of £18 million. The project began in 2009, with a planned implementation of June 2010. It was delivered in April 2011, following the initial under resourcing of the supplier. Nevertheless, costs were maintained within budget as the supplier agreed to complete within them.
	‘Project OSCAR’ will replace the Government-wide system for consolidating Government accounts. It began in June 2011, with a planned completion date of February 2013. It will be completed in March 2013. The initial planned cost was £17.1 million, and the forecast cost is £17.6 million.

Nuclear Power: EU Grants and Loans

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 11 February 2013, Official Report, columns 569-71, on the European Council, what the value is of the resource allocated under the EU multiannual budget 2014-20 agreement to support (a) nuclear fission and (b) nuclear fusion; whether any part of the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (Horizon 2020 programme) will support research on nuclear issues; and what benefits will accrue to the UK nuclear industry of that support.

Greg Clark: Nuclear fission and fusion research will be supported through the Euratom section of the Horizon 2020 programme. Horizon 2020 has yet to receive an allocated level of spend within Heading 1A of the Multi Annual Financial Framework. As such, it is not yet possible to assess the total level of resource to be allocated to nuclear fission and fusion research until there is agreement with the European Parliament.
	Alongside Euratom, the European Union will contribute €2,707 million towards the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a global nuclear fusion research project. A total of €860 million will also be allocated to support the decommissioning of nuclear power plants in Lithuania, Slovakia and Bulgaria.

Overseas Trade: China

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 31 January 2013, Official Report, column 938W, on overseas trade: China, what the results were of the London-Hong Kong International RMB Forum about the opportunities to access Renminbi products and services in London, held in December 2012.

Greg Clark: The Treasury published an outcomes statement for the first day of the second London-Hong Kong International RMB Forum on its website on 4 December 2012:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/hongkong_london_forum_041212.htm
	The objective of the second day of the forum was to raise awareness of the growing number of RMB denominated products and services, including loans, treasury and cash management services, direct foreign exchange quotes, and benchmarks. The City of London Corporation distributed a resource pack on accessing London RMB products and services, which can be found on its website.

Small Charitable Donations Act 2012

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 1(1) of the Small Charitable Donations Act 2012 to include non-perishable gifts of food and toiletries to eligible charities as defined by the Act.

Sajid Javid: The Small Charitable Donations Act 2012 established the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme. This scheme will allow charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs to claim a gift aid style top-up payment on small cash donations received from 6 April 2013. The scheme has been introduced to help reduce the administrative burden on charities by removing the requirement for charities to obtain gift aid declarations from donors on gifts of money.
	While all spending measures remain under review, the Government has no plans at this time to allow gifts of non-perishable gifts of food and toiletries to be included in the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the smuggling and passage of illegal tobacco products across the EU and into the UK.

Sajid Javid: The Government published its strategy for tackling tobacco smuggling in 2011. As part of that strategy, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Treasury officials meet with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Training

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on training and education for civil servants in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The Treasury Group (core Treasury, Asset Protection Agency, Debt Management Office, UK Financial Investments and Office for Budget Responsibility) spent £1,258,950 in 2011-12, £1,403,791 in 2010-11 and £2,564,647 in 2009-10 on internal and external training and team building events.

Welfare Tax Credits: Self-Employed

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many investigations were undertaken into suspected erroneous tax credit claims by former Work programme participants who claim to have moved into self-employment in the latest period for which figures are available.

Sajid Javid: The Department does not hold this information.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Broadband

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what comparative assessment his Department has made of the effect of charging network operators on the basis of (a) fibre in the ground and (b) fibre used to serve customers; and how he intends that the rateable value of these networks will be assessed in the future.

Brandon Lewis: Rateable values are assessed independently by the Valuation Office Agency. The Valuation Office Agency has published guidance on how they assess telecommunication networks for business rates in the Rating Manual Volume 5, Sections 870, 871 and 873. The Rating Manual is available on their website at:
	www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/Publications/business.html

Carbon Monoxide: Alarms

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration he has given to plans to make the installation of a carbon monoxide detector a requirement for (a) mortgage providers and (b) estate agents.

Don Foster: holding answer 14 February 2013
	None. I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 11 December 2012, Official Report, column 180W, which sets out the context.

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether his Department is signed up to the Government's Cycle to Work scheme;
	(2)  what progress his Department has made on implementing the Cycle to Work guarantee.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 75W.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department's top three policy implementation (a) successes and (b) failures have been since May 2010.

Brandon Lewis: A comprehensive review at the implementation progress can be found in the Government's “Mid-Term Review” document and the “Programme for Government” update.
	Notwithstanding, I would observe in relation to policy achievements:
	The Localism Act 2011 represents an historic shift of power from Whitehall to every community to take back control of their lives. Councils have a new general power of competence and local residents have a real power over decisions like council tax, town hall pay, planning, community buildings and local services.
	We have delivered significant decentralisation of local authority finances through the Local Government Finance Act 2011. These reforms have the potential to increase economic growth by £10 billion over the next seven years. Under our reforms, 70% of local authority income will now be raised locally.
	Our transparency agenda has radically enhanced local government accountability and transparency, in a move that is as bold as Margaret Thatcher's Private Members' Bill of 1960 which opened up council meetings to public observers.
	In terms of policy challenges:
	Opposition peers in the House of Lords obstructed the provisions in the Localism Bill to give new rights to local residents to hold local referendums. It is clear that such enemies of direct democracy literally do not trust the people.
	Thanks to legal rulings from the European Court of Justice, it has taken longer than anticipated to undertake strategic environmental assessments in relation to the proposed revocation of the last Administration's Regional Strategies. This reflects the growing and unwelcome regulatory creep of the European Union, undermining the United Kingdom's Parliament.
	A small number of mainly left-wing councils are continuing to publish 'town hall pravdas', disregarding the local government Publicity Code and wasting taxpayers' money. We intend to take further action to stop such propaganda on the rates and defend the free and independent press.

Elections: Discrimination

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who is responsible for addressing discrimination and discriminatory conduct during election campaigns.

Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	Candidates are expected to be wholly compliant with electoral law in the words, behaviours and materials they use. For example, it is prohibited to include false statements about the character or conduct of other candidates in campaign material.
	Election campaign material is also subject to the general restrictions of the civil and criminal law. If an individual considers that campaign material contains false statements or is in breach of the criminal law than these matters should be raised with the police.

Fire Services

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has issued to local fire authorities on the outsourcing of (a) services, (b) equipment and (c) buildings.

Brandon Lewis: My Department has not issued any guidance to fire and rescue authorities on outsourcing. The terms of any such contracts, including business continuity arrangements, are a matter for individual fire and rescue authorities to decide upon.
	Any fire and rescue authority can currently choose to contract out a proportion of its services within the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (England and Wales) and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 provided they comply with relevant legal requirements. Some of these services are already outsourced to contractors e.g. training, human resources and call handling.

ICT

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) start date, (b) original planned completion date, (c) expected completion date, (d) planned cost and (e) expected cost is for each information technology project over £1 million undertaken by his Department and its executive agencies since 1 April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The only information technology project over £1 million undertaken by my Department and its executive agencies since 1 April 2010 is for the provision of replacement IT Desktop Services.
	The project contract commenced on 19 December 2012 and the project is currently on schedule to be completed by 30 September 2013 after which will follow three years of IT services. The value of the contract is circa £13 million which includes the transition of services from our existing suppliers and the provision of mobile working, desktop, storage, application support, messaging and associated services across DCLG for the next three years. This represents a significant saving of 40% on current contracts.

Marketing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on each of his Department’s marketing and advertising campaigns in each year since 2010; and how much he plans to spend in each year until 2015.

Brandon Lewis: DCLG has cut spending on marketing and advertising from £9.9 million in 2009-10, to £898,000 in 2010-11 and £980,000 in 2011-12. In both these years, the Fire Kills campaign accounts for virtually all the spend. This campaign saves people from death and injury caused by accidental dwelling fires through embedding fire safe behaviour such as regularly testing their smoke alarms. For the current year (2012-13), the Fire Kills campaign has a planned budget of £1 million and the Right to Buy campaign, informing social housing tenants of the recent changes to the reinvigorated scheme, has a planned budget of £1.6 million. The Right to Buy scheme promotes home ownership and will help build replacement affordable housing, delivering a wider economic benefit from construction. However, budgets are constantly scrutinised for value for money and plans amended on the basis of lessons learnt in line with good marketing and advertising practice.
	In addition, GVA, the Department’s retained commercial property agents, are managing a low-cost marketing and advertising campaign on behalf of the Department to dispose of the control centres following the termination of the last Administration’s FiReControl project (£45,000 for 2012-13).
	My Department currently has no finally agreed budgets for campaigns beyond 2012-13 as all Government spending on marketing and advertising is the exception.

Right to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2013, Official Report, column 855W, on the Right to Buy scheme, 
	(1)  if he will identify in which position Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council is ranked when local authorities are ranked according to the amount of council housing stock in their respective areas;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a list of local authorities, ranked by the amount of council housing stock in their areas.

Mark Prisk: The number of dwellings owned by local authorities can be found in Live Table 116 on our website, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
	Welwyn Hatfield borough council signed up to becoming a Right to Buy 'Spotlight' council to promote best practice, hence it's participation in our wider marketing campaign.

Right to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2013, Official Report, column 855W, on the Right to Buy Scheme, if he will place in the Library the data on local authorities’ council housing stock that his Department used to target promotion materials for the right to buy.

Mark Prisk: My Department used the council housing stock levels at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
	to target promotion materials for the Right to Buy campaign. Promotion materials were also used in areas where a council expressed a desire to work with the Department on right to buy, such as our ‘Spotlight’ areas. The Department is committed to ensuring that tenants are aware of the changes to the scheme so they can make an informed choice on whether to buy their council home.

Right to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2013, Official Report, column 855W, on the Right to Buy scheme, what criteria were used to establish whether local authorities were willing to work with his Department.

Mark Prisk: All stock-owning councils were invited to work with the Department on the Right to Buy campaign. We worked with those councils who accepted the invitation.
	For example, three councils signed up to become Right to Buy 'Spotlight' councils—Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham and Welwyn Hatfield. Basildon signed up to be a spotlight council later in the summer.

Travellers

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  on how many occasions the cross-departmental ministerial working party on Gypsy, Roma and Travellers has met since May 2010;
	(2)  what discussions have been held in the cross-departmental ministerial working party on Gypsy, Roma and Travellers since May 2010;
	(3)  which Government Ministers attend meetings of the cross-departmental ministerial working party on Gypsy, Roma and Travellers.

Don Foster: In line with the practice of previous governments, information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees or other ministerial discussions, including what issues were discussed, is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
	In April 2012, the Ministerial Working Group published a progress report which includes 28 commitments to help reduce inequalities experienced by Gypsies and Travellers. A list of the working group members is included in that report.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to ensure that local authorities have (a) assessed the need for site pitches and (b) prepared plans to meet an identified need for such pitches for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in their respective area by 1 April 2013.

Nicholas Boles: Our Planning Policy for Traveller Sites published in March 2012 returns to local councils the right and responsibility to assess and plan for the needs of their traveller community, rather than imposing regional targets which served to exacerbate community tensions.
	Our policy aims to increase the number of traveller sites in appropriate locations with planning permission in order to address under provision and maintain an appropriate level of supply. It asks local councils to use a robust evidence base to establish accommodation needs, to identify sites to meet their traveller community's needs for five years, and to forecast ahead to 14 years provision where possible.
	From 27 March this year, if a council cannot demonstrate an up to date five-year supply of deliverable sites, then this should be a significant material consideration in determining whether to grant of temporary planning permission. Notwithstanding, traveller sites (temporary or permanent) in the green belt are inappropriate development except in very special circumstances.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of questions tabled for ordinary written answer by his Department (a) were answered after 30 days and (b) have not been answered in this Session.

Brandon Lewis: 750 ordinary written questions were tabled to the Department between the start of the current Session and 31 December 2012. As at 12 February, 14 (1.9%) of these had not yet been answered and three were answered 30 sitting days or more after they were tabled.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a Sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session are available on the Parliament website at:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Employment: Scotland

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in (a) Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency and (b) Scotland dependent on (i) investment from outside the UK and (ii) investment from parts of the UK other than Scotland.

Michael Fallon: BIS has not made any such estimates. However the Scottish Government's Businesses in Scotland 2012 report suggests that, as at March 2012, 35.0% of private sector employment was in enterprises with ultimate ownership outside Scotland. The report says that 18.7% of Scottish private sector employment was in enterprises with ultimate ownership in the rest of the UK, with the remaining 16.3% of employment in enterprises with ultimate ownership abroad (outside the UK).

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare: Slaughterhouses

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure the successful implementation of European Council Regulation No. 1099/2009 on Protection of animals at the time of killing.

David Heath: EU Regulation 1099/2009 on the Protection of Animals at the Time of Killing came into effect on 1 January 2013 and has direct effect in every member state, including the United Kingdom, from that date. However, domestic implementing legislation is required to ensure we can fully enforce the requirements Regulation 1099/2009 places on business operators and to clarify any national rules that will apply. The Government's consultation on measures to implement EU Regulation 1099/2009 closed on 24 October 2012 and the Government is currently considering the responses received. Once this process has been completed a response will be published on the DEFRA website.

Animal Welfare: Slaughterhouses

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of Mr Peter Boddy's response to his Department's consultation entitled Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing.

David Heath: There is no record of a response from Mr Peter Boddy to the consultation on measures to implement Regulation 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing, which ran for six weeks to 24 October 2012.

Beef: Horse Meat

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has had the full results of the tests carried out by the Irish food authorities on horsemeat in beef.

David Heath: Full results of the tests carried out by the Irish food authorities on horsemeat in beef have been published on the Food Safety Authority of Ireland's website at
	http://www.fsai.ie/news_centre/final_update_meat_investigation_28.01.2013.html
	I will arrange for a copy of the information to be available in the House Library.

Beef: Horse Meat

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will name the public sector catering suppliers that have been asked to test products for horsemeat; how many products he expects to be tested; and when he will publish the results of such tests.

David Heath: Twenty-eight local authorities across the UK will take a total of 224 samples in accordance with a detailed sampling protocol. The aim is to select products that are representative of those available on the market. Public sector catering suppliers will be testing products as part of this national survey. Formal samples will be taken in such a way that, if necessary, enforcement action can be taken to protect consumers. The Food Standards Agency will publish the results from the study, including brand names, and will disclose any formal action taken.

Bees: Pesticides

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the conclusions of risk assessments carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published on 16 January 2013 that the neonicotinoid insecticides (a) imidacloprid, (b) clothianidin and (c) thiamethoxam pose an unacceptable danger to bees; if he will make it his policy to introduce an immediate ban on the use of these insecticides on crops attractive to honey bees until (i) the EFSA research has been examined by the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) and (ii) the conclusions of the ACP examination have been made public; when he expects the ACP to complete an examination of that research; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: Since concerns were first raised on this important issue, DEFRA has been clear that we will act in accordance with the evidence. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reports published on 16 January consider the risks to bees from these insecticides and conclude that more data is needed to update the current risk assessments. As the EFSA made clear in the reports, these assessments used existing data against new regulatory requirements which have yet to be finalised. As would normally be expected, the EFSA found that new data requirements were not met by data produced earlier. The reports do not state that these insecticides pose an unacceptable danger to bees, although this impression is given by the accompanying EFSA press release. It is also worth emphasising that the EFSA conclusions are not new scientific information but report a stage in the process of updating the developing new risk assessment and applying it to these three active substances.
	The Government has taken research on effects to bees seriously and we have not assumed that the existing controls are sufficient. The European Commission has now indicated that it will propose measures on the three neonicotinoids reviewed by the EFSA and has held an initial discussion with member states. Our approach to any Commission proposal will continue to be founded in a proportionate response to the science and so we will seek clarity as to what the Commission are proposing, the basis for this and the likely impacts. Our response will take account of advice from the Advisory Committee on Pesticides, which considered the latest evidence on the risks to bees from neonicotinoid insecticides at its meeting on 29 January. They also received the EFSA conclusions.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the data on TB herds used by his Department (a) is stored centrally, (b) is available county-by-county, (c) includes details of all TB breakdowns by (i) single reactor and (ii) multiple reactor, (d) includes how many tests were conducted in each county, (e) includes what the results were of all these tests and (f) is mapped to chart all TB breakdowns according to the breakdown severity; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: Statistical data on the cattle herds affected by bovine TB since 2008 is available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/landuselivestock/cattletb/national/
	Statistics are published on the number of TB herds at county level, together with the number of tests and test results. The number of reactors per breakdown is captured, but is recorded as a herd breakdown regardless of the number of reactors.
	Statutory TB testing of all herds is recorded centrally by Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories (AHVLA). This includes the livestock tested per herd and the results. For breakdown herds, laboratory sampling information is also stored centrally.
	A geographical TB breakdown map is produced as part of the annual TB surveillance report. The 2011 report is due to be published in March 2013.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to help farmers when their cattle are quarantined for bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB); and what steps he is taking to speed up the process of bovine TB testing.

David Heath: In cases where bovine TB has been detected in a herd, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency will arrange a visit to the premises by a veterinary officer or inspector. At such visits herd owners and managers are advised of how the breakdown will be managed and what action they need to take.
	A zero tolerance policy to overdue TB testing is in place, meaning that all herds that are not already under movement restrictions are served a notice of restrictions immediately a test becomes overdue. As an additional incentive for keepers to test their cattle in a timely manner, the Cattle Compensation (England) Order 2012, which came into force in July 2012, allows for the reduction of compensation payments where the keeper has failed to test animals by the specified date.

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the (a) total floor space and (b) floor space measured in square metres per full-time equivalent post is of properties used by his Department;
	(2)  what the names and locations are of all properties used by officials of his Department; whether those properties are (a) owned by the Department, (b) leased by the Department and (c) subject to a private finance initiative agreement; when existing lease agreements relating to such properties are due to expire; and what the total floor space is of each property.

Richard Benyon: The total floor space of property legally held by the core Department as at 1 January 2013 is 280,330 square metres (sqm). This includes offices, laboratories, stores and other miscellaneous uses. This covers all property occupied by the core Department and our Executive agencies, Natural England, CRC, MMO and GLA. It excludes property held separately by our other NDPBs, public corporation and non ministerial departments.
	As at 31 March 2012, the floor space per full-time equivalent post (FTE) for office property occupied by the core Department and our Executive agencies, Natural England, CRC, MMO and GLA, is 15.7 square metres per FTE. This is consistent with the Cabinet Office’s Property Benchmarking Service and covers only occupied offices.
	The names, locations and total floor space of all properties (a) owned, (b) leased and (c) subject to a PFI agreements are published on the HM Government transparency website at:
	http://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/epims/resource/19e05b2c-a06d-46d2-b34f-a26d87a362ec
	Where leases are required to be registered, the expiry dates are available from the HM Land Registry at:
	www.landregistry.gov.uk

Coastal Erosion: Dorset

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funds are available for sea defences in Dorset; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management, which includes sea defence projects, is allocated according to the partnership funding approach. Instead of meeting the full costs of just a limited number of schemes, the partnership approach means that Government money is potentially available towards the costs of any worthwhile scheme. This approach encourages external investment and means that more schemes can go ahead than with Government funding alone.
	Funding is allocated on a scheme by scheme basis, depending on the outcomes the schemes will achieve. Key outcomes include improved protection of households, especially in areas at greatest flood risk and where there is local deprivation. All types of risk (for example from the sea or from rivers) are given equal weighting.
	In 2013-14, the Environment Agency will spend a total of around £215 million on building new, and improving existing, flood and coastal defences in England.
	Of this, the Wessex Regional Flood and Coastal Committee will spend £6.7 million to manage both flood and coastal erosion risk- in their local area. £400,000 is available to spend on coastal projects this year, which is helping to progress the £2.5 million Lyme Regis Coastal Protection Works scheme.

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  who his Department's cycling champion is;
	(2)  what progress his Department has made on implementing the Cycle to Work guarantee;
	(3)  whether his Department has signed up to the Government's Cycle to Work scheme.

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA has signed up to the Cycle to Work guarantee. A Cycle to Work scheme is provided along with secure cycle storage, lockers and shower and changing facilities across the DEFRA estate.
	Core DEFRA does not have a “cycling champion”, although there is an active Bicycle Users Group. This group liaises regularly with the Department on matters relating to cycling to work and helped inform the current policy on the Cycle to Work scheme.

Fisheries Regional Advisory Councils

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to increase representation on regional advisory councils; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The role of regional advisory councils is to advise on the development of fisheries management measures and is established under the current common fisheries policy (CFP). The councils are stakeholder-led organisations comprised principally of fishermen and other representatives of interests affected by the CFP. They establish their own representative organisational make-up and rules of procedure.
	Regional advisory councils are likely to play an invaluable role in the establishment of a more regionalised approach to fisheries management under CFP reform. I am therefore pleased that advisory councils have recognised the importance of being a strong voice and are taking steps to ensure a balanced representation of all stakeholders.

Fisheries: Quotas

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to support a programme of prioritising access to fishing quota to fishermen who operate in the most sustainable, low-impact manner.

Richard Benyon: It is important that fisheries management delivers a prosperous future for the fishing fleet and enables all sectors to operate in a sustainable manner. This is why we fund research to understand discarding issues in each sector, commission work on gear selectivity and work at EU level to align environmental and fishing legislation.
	We also run discard free catch quota schemes around the UK where additional quota is available to those vessels who participate. For example, in the North Sea participants in the scheme have cut discards to 0.2% of their catch for the species under trial and have radically reduced catches of any non-marketable fish.
	Delivering transformational reform of the common fisheries policy, especially zero discards and fishing all stocks at Maximum Sustainable Yield, combined with appropriate conditions applying to fishing within a network of European Marine Sites and Marine Conservation Zones will ensure that only sustainable fishing, aligned with the needs of the marine environment, will prosper.

Floods

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimates exist of the number of properties in England and Wales which will be classified as being at significant risk of flooding in each of the next 10 years.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency's National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) provides an assessment of the number of properties in England and Wales which are classified as being at significant risk in the present day only. It takes into account climate change that has already happened but does not show how the risk will change in the future.
	The Environment Agency’s long-term investment strategy has looked at scenarios of future flood risk in England. It was published in 2009 and is available on the Environment Agency website.

Floods

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many properties in England and Wales were classified as being at significant risk of flooding in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: The following table lists the number of properties in areas of significant flood risk (1 in 75 (1.3%) or greater chance of being flooded in any given year) in each year since 2004 for which figures are available from the Environment Agency's National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA).
	
		
			 England and Wales 
			 Year of assessment Total number of properties in areas of significant risk Of which: residential properties in areas of significant risk 
			 2004 373,000 n/a 
			 2005 569,000 n/a 
			 2006 517,000 432,000 
			 2007 (1)— (1)— 
			 2008 578,000 373,000 
			 2009 561,000 358,000 
			 2010-11 546,000 354,000 
			 2012 489,000 315,000 
			 (1 )No update. 
		
	
	This method for assessing flood risk dates from 2002 with the first results published in 2004. Newly completed defences are taken into consideration in the assessment on a quarterly basis.
	Since the original assessment, the risk in different areas of England and Wales will have changed because of newly constructed or improved flood defences.
	Both the data and methods used to produce the assessment have substantially improved over this period of time so it is not possible for the figures to be used as part of a consistent year-on-year analysis of how flood risk has changed.

Food: Labelling

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many surveys of product authenticity his Department carried out since taking over responsibility for compositional labelling in 2010; and on what dates such surveys were carried out.

David Heath: The Food Standards Agency oversees a rigorous, risk-based system of checks by local authority trading standards teams and environmental health officers. The testing regime is intelligence led and was not affected by Machinery of Government changes in 2010 which saw a small number of policy experts (less than 5%) move from the Food Standards Agency into DEFRA and the Department of Health. In 2011-12 local authorities took 78,653 food samples, which underwent 92,181 analyses by the Official Control Laboratories. These included 18,219 compositional analyses, 11,879 analyses of food for labelling and presentation and 55,546 microbiological analyses.

Food: Procurement

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice is provided to public authorities regarding food purchasing to ensure sourcing is only from verified sources.

Anna Soubry: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued the following advice to public bodies on 10 February 2013 via its website:
	www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2013/feb/advice
	Public institutions (schools, prisons, hospitals, armed forces) are within the scope of the United Kingdom-wide authenticity sampling programme being organised by the FSA.
	This additional FSA verification and validation of meat authenticity, will help provide assurance that industry is taking an appropriate level of responsibility for safety in the food chain.
	We are reminding public bodies (schools; prisons, hospitals, armed forces) of their responsibility for their own food contracts. We expect them to have rigorous procurement procedures in place, with reputable suppliers.
	We are keeping the appropriate Government Departments in close touch with developments, making sure that they are aware of testing and traceability requirements, and that if any public authorities have any concerns they should seek assurances on authenticity from their suppliers. It remains the case that the issues identified so far suggest gross negligence and possibly criminality, but no food safety risks.
	If public institutions are not satisfied with assurance from suppliers, then they should take appropriate action depending on the circumstances. Where evidence of authenticity is not produced, that action may include requiring the supplier to conduct tests, and reject or temporarily withhold stock, while waiting for results.

Forestry Commission

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost is to the Forestry Commission to maintain (a) a forest and (b) other Commission monitored wildlife sites.

David Heath: The public forest estate extends to more than 250,000 hectares and is made up of a wide range of woodland types and natural habitats. The cost of maintaining individual sites is not recorded separately. One of the Forestry Commission's corporate indicators is the average cost per hectare of managing the entire public forest estate. For the 2011-12 financial year this was £76.62 per hectare.

Forestry Commission

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what his Department's policy is on whether the Forestry Commission should impose charges on people who wish to access public forests and nature preserves monitored by the Commission;
	(2)  if his Department will take steps to encourage the Forestry Commission to make budget savings where possible, without introducing new fees to be paid by nature preserve and forest visitors;
	(3)  if his Department will take steps to encourage the Forestry Commission to plan its budget so that it does not need to charge people to park in national forests;
	(4)  if his Department will take steps to ensure that the Forestry Commission does not charge people engaging in outdoor activities for parking in areas where parking was previously free.

David Heath: As we set out in the Government Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement on 31 January, we are committed to ensuring that the public forest estate continues to provide a high level of public benefit while putting it on a sustainable financial footing for the future.
	The Forestry Commission is responsible for managing its own budget and like all parts of Government must work within the current financial constraints. That will include pursuing efficiency savings in future years and considering whether to use appropriate means to raise revenue.
	Almost the entire freehold public forest estate, currently managed by the Forestry Commission, is dedicated for access under the provisions in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which means there is free public access on foot in perpetuity. However, on many sites where additional facilities are provided there are charges, including for car parking, which contribute directly to the cost of providing these facilities. It is for the Forestry Commission to decide where it should introduce car parking charges and how much these should be.

Forestry Commission

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the budget of the Forestry Commission is allocated to payment of staff.

David Heath: The Forestry Commission's GB and England activities including the management of the public forest estate by Forest Enterprise in 2011-12 had a combined staff cost that was 32.3% of the combined operating expenditure. The operating expenditure and staff costs for this calculation use the figures published in the Forestry Commission Annual Report and Accounts and it does not include £30 million of woodland grant payments administered by the Forestry Commission on behalf of DEFRA.

Forestry Commission

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how much the Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission claimed in expenses in 2012;
	(2)  what the annual salary is of the Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission.

Richard Benyon: The chief executive, Forestry Commission England personally claimed £2,794.89 in business expenses from January to December 2012.
	The salary of the chief executive of Forestry Commission England is reported each year in the Forestry Commission's annual report and accounts. For 2011-12 the salary of the chief executive of Forestry Commission England was in the range £85,000 to £90,000.

Fracking

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to (a) prevent and (b) deal with contamination of the water table and water supply by fracking and (c) ensure clean water is available to people in the event of such contamination.

Richard Benyon: Under the Water Resources Act 1991 all shale gas operators in England and Wales must notify the Environment Agency of their intention to drill a borehole and operators must provide details of how they intend to protect water resources, including groundwater, in the construction and use of the borehole. If the Environment Agency is not satisfied, it may serve a notice on the operator to take appropriate measures to conserve water quantity and quality.
	If hydraulic fracturing could result in entry of pollutants into groundwater, the Environment Agency would regard the fracturing as a groundwater activity. A permit under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 will then be required to ensure that groundwater is protected. This is in addition to the controls applied by the local Mineral Planning Authority, the Health and Safety Executive and through a notice to drill under the Water Resources Act 1991.
	Under the environmental permitting regulations, operators also require permits from the Environment Agency approving their plans for the management and disposal of extractive wastes from drilling and hydraulic fracturing, including waste fracking fluids.
	Should pollution of groundwater occur, the Environment Agency can take enforcement action for an offence under regulation 38 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 and has powers under both regulation 57 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 and section 161 and 161A of the Water Resources Act 1991 to prevent or remedy pollution of groundwater caused by the actions of operators.
	For public water supplies, the water companies have the responsibility for ensuring that drinking water supplied to the tap is of the appropriate quality. In the case of private drinking water supplies, these must be registered with and tested regularly by the local authority environmental health departments. If groundwater resources used for private supply are polluted by shale gas activities, in addition to the powers outlined above, the Environment Agency would also inform the local authority so that they can consider any action they might need to take.

Horse Passports

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of breed societies having the power to issue horse passports.

David Heath: It is a requirement of European legislation that pedigree horse passports must be issued by the organisation that manages the “studbook” for the relevant breed.

Horses: Animal Welfare

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to tackle fly grazing; and whether he has considered bringing forward legislative proposals in this respect.

David Heath: There is existing legislation that relates to fly grazing, depending on the individual circumstances of each case. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 has far reaching and wide provisions that make it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal. The Animals Act 1971 also provides powers to seize animals that stray onto other people's land. In addition the authorities can and have taken action under antisocial behaviour legislation to combat fly grazing.
	DEFRA is working with the Home Office to ensure that proposals to tackle antisocial behaviour may be used to tackle fly-grazing. We also support the call for enforcement bodies to share best practice to deal with perpetrators.

Livestock: Exports

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the trade restrictions associated with non-compliance with EU Council Directive 78/52/EEC apply to (a) the trade of live animal exports and (b) the trade of all meat carcasses for exports.

David Heath: Council Directive 78/52/EEC sets out the criteria that must be satisfied in order for national eradication plans for certain animal diseases to qualify for EU financial contributions. Council Directive 78/52/EEC does not include provisions for introduction of trade restrictions.

Livestock: Transport

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his contributions of 13 December 2012, Official Report, column 530, on live animal exports, which organisations in Ramsgate have been served statutory notices by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency; how many statutory notices were served to each such company; and on what date each notice was served in the last six months.

David Heath: Information on the 30 statutory notices served on GB transport companies cannot be provided, as to do so in respect of those transporters that are sole traders would, we believe, contravene Data Protection Laws, and in cases where the infringement is serious such information might prejudice any investigation and possible prosecution being taken by the relevant local authority. For further details on the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency's regulatory policy in relation to the welfare during transport legislation see:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/publication/advice-wato-enforcement/

Livestock: Transport

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of EU Council Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in protecting the welfare of animals during transport; and what steps he plans to take to increase the protection of animals during transport.

David Heath: Rules on welfare during transport are laid down in Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005, as implemented in England by The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006. (Parallel legislation exists in the devolved Administrations.) The provisions of the EU legislation and the offences created by the relevant domestic implementing legislation are designed to deal with most criminal offences detected during transport of animals, but offences under sections 4 and 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 can also be used if appropriate.
	UK compliance with Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 is routinely monitored and reported on by the EU Commission through audit inspections by their Food and Veterinary Office (FVO). Their reports are publicly available on their website at:
	http://ec.europa.eu/food/fvo/ir_search_en.cfm
	The Government will continue to ensure that those that transport livestock for slaughter follow the rules on such trade and any infringements of the legislation will lead to the appropriate enforcement action being taken.
	At the EU Council of Ministers meeting on 18 June 2012, Sir James Paice, the previous Minister of State, referred to a statement he wished to see entered into the minutes of the meeting. This statement concluded that, whilst the UK agreed with the EU Commission that better enforcement of existing legislation was the number one priority, it was important that the rules on welfare in transport are updated where there is sufficient scientific evidence to support a change. This included the recommendation made by EFSA that the maximum journey time for horses going to slaughter should be reduced from 24 hours to 12 hours. We will continue to press the EU Commission to introduce this recommended change at the earliest opportunity.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Richard Benyon: Since the introduction of the Contracts Finder website, core DEFRA has published 88 opportunities on Contracts Finder, or 18% of the 489 contracts entered into by core DEFRA in that period. A number of those contracts were the result of procurements started before the website was in place. Core DEFRA does not publish on Contracts Finder procurements which are only open to invited suppliers (e.g. from frameworks).
	Core DEFRA's primary route for accessing the market is its Bravo procurement system, on which there are 3,215 supplier records, allowing us to reach a wide range of suppliers when putting a tender out to market.

Public Appointments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people he appointed to public bodies in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; (i) how many and (ii) what proportion of those appointees were (A) black or from an ethnic minority, (B) Hindu, (C) Muslim and (D) Chinese in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The number of public appointees made by DEFRA Ministers during 2010-11 and 2011-12, under guidance from the Commissioner for Public Appointments, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Appointments 
			 2010-11 26 
			 2011-12 44 
		
	
	The Commissioner for Public Appointments collates and publishes information on the number of appointments of candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds; however, this information is not broken down by ethnic group.
	Copies of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 annual reports are available at:
	http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk
	Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost.

Redundancy

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many civil service posts have been made redundant by his Department in each year since 1999; and what the cost of redundancies in each such year has been;
	(2)  how many posts have been declared redundant by each of his Department's Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1999; and what has been the cost of those redundancies in each such year.

Richard Benyon: When a member of staff’s role comes to an end, redeployment or voluntary departure is considered before compulsory redundancy. The information provided as follows covers compulsory redundancies and voluntary departures (voluntary exits or voluntary redundancies). Figures for 2012-13 show the number and costs incurred of departures to date. Data is rounded to the nearest £1,000 unless otherwise stated.
	Core-DEFRA
	The following table shows the number of staff leaving core-DEFRA on (a) compulsory redundancies and (b) voluntary exits and redundancies and the amounts spent on (a) and (b), for each financial year since 2009-10. Departure costs have been rounded to the nearest £100,000.
	Data is not available centrally for the years prior to 2010-11 and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of compulsory redundancies Cost (£000) Number of voluntary departures Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 0 0 52 1,600 
			 2011-12 0 0 20 1,700 
			 2010-11 (1)— 100 321 17,000 
			 (1) Denotes fewer than five redundancies—the actual number cannot be disclosed on confidentiality grounds. 
		
	
	Executive agencies
	Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA)
	AHVLA was formed on 1 April 2011 following the merger of Animal Health (AH) and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA). Data for 2010-11 shows the combined number of departures from AH and VLA. Data is not available for the period prior to 2010-11. Departure costs have been rounded to the nearest £100,000.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of compulsory redundancies Cost (£000) Number of voluntary departures Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 — — (1)— 100 
			 2011-12 9 100 240 7,100 
			 2010-11 — — 65 2,600 
			 (1) Denotes fewer than five departures—the actual number cannot be disclosed on confidentiality grounds. 
		
	
	Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS)
	All departures agreed by CEFAS have been under voluntary terms and these are reported below. Data is not available for the years prior to 2007-08.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of voluntary departures Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 0 0 
			 2011-12 (1)— 30 
			 2010-11 15 570 
			 2009-10 0 0 
			 2008-09 41 1,171 
			 2007-08 (1)— 149 
			 (1) Denotes fewer than five departures—the actual number cannot be disclosed on confidentiality grounds. 
		
	
	Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA)
	FERA was vested on 1 April 2009. Figures for the years prior to 2010-11 are not available.
	All departures shown in the following table were under voluntary terms. There were no compulsory redundancies.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of voluntary departures Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 17 510 
			 2011-12 45 1,731 
			 2010-11 (1)— 42 
			 (1) Denotes fewer than five departures—the actual number cannot be disclosed on confidentiality grounds. 
		
	
	Rural Payments Agency (RPA)
	All departures agreed by RPA have been under voluntary terms. There have been no compulsory redundancies. Data is not available for the years prior to 2007-08.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of voluntary departures Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 0 0 
			 2011-12 123 3,711 
			 2010-11 105 542 
			 2009-10 74 1,138 
			 2008-09 45 2,014 
			 2007-08 42 1,062 
		
	
	Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD)
	All departures shown in the following table were under voluntary terms. Data is not available for the period prior to 2007-08.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of voluntary departures Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 (1)— 40 
			 2011-12 10 211 
			 2010-11 (1)— 72 
			 2009-10 0 0 
			 2008-09 0 0 
			 2007-08 0 0 
			 (1) Denotes fewer than five departures—the actual number cannot be disclosed on confidentiality grounds. 
		
	
	Executive non-departmental public bodies
	Environment Agency (EA)
	The following table shows the number of people made compulsorily redundant by the EA since April 2010 and the number who left under the EA's voluntary early release scheme, which is akin to voluntary redundancy. It also shows the cost of those departures. Data prior to 2010 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of compulsory redundancies Cost (£000) Number of voluntary departures Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 (1)— 135 25 987 
			 2011-12 28 828 30 1,418 
			 2010-11 98 3,800 564 25,100 
			 (1) Denotes fewer than five departures—the actual number cannot be disclosed on confidentiality grounds. 
		
	
	Gang masters Licensing Authority (GLA)
	The information requested is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
	Figures on the number of compulsory redundancies and the cost of those redundancies in JNCC so far in the financial year 2012-13 are shown in the following table. There were no voluntary departures in 2012-13 or redundancies prior to this period.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of compulsory redundancies Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 (1)— 28 
			 (1) Denotes fewer than five departures—the actual number cannot be disclosed on confidentiality grounds. 
		
	
	Marine Management Organisation (MMO)
	All departures shown in the following table were under voluntary terms. MMO do not hold information prior to the date of MMO vesting on 1 April 2010.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of voluntary departures Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 0 0 
			 2011-12 0 0 
			 2010-11 15 350 
		
	
	Natural England (NE)
	All departures shown in the following table were under voluntary terms. Data is not available for the period prior to 2007-08. Departure costs have been rounded to the nearest £100,000.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of voluntary departures Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 0 0 
			 2011-12 380 14,000 
			 2010-11 8 300 
			 2009-10 (1)— 200 
			 2008-09 155 6,000 
			 2007-08 0 0 
			 (1) Denotes fewer than five departures—the actual number cannot be disclosed on confidentiality grounds. 
		
	
	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (RBG Kew)
	All departures shown in the following table were under voluntary terms. Data is not available for the period prior to 2008-09.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of voluntary departures Cost (£000) 
			 2012-13 0 0 
			 2011-12 (1)— 119 
			 2010-11 (1)— 52 
			 2009-10 0 0 
			 2008-09 0 0 
			 (1) Denotes fewer than five departures—the actual number cannot be disclosed on confidentiality grounds.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many regulations his Department introduced between 1 June 2012 and 31 January 2013; and what the anticipated cost is of each.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA introduced 43 statutory instruments in this period, but no primary legislation. These regulations are shown in the table.
	Any information that is available on estimated costs and savings to business is set out in individual Impact Assessments. These are available electronically from the Better Regulation Executive's Impact Assessment Library:
	http://www.ialibrary.bis.gov.uk/
	or
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk
	where they are linked to the legislation.
	
		
			 DEFRA SIs made in 2012 (including those signed by a civil servant on behalf of the SoS), regulations introduced by DEFRA between 1 June 2012 and 31 January 2013 
			  Title SI/Act Ref Date 
			 1 The Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003 (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2013 SI 2013/141 24 January 2013 
			 2 The Pollution Prevention and Control (Designation of Directives) (England and Wales) Order 2013 (SI 2013/123)(1) SI 2013/123 15 January 2013 
			 3 The Uplands Transitional Payment Regulations 2013(1) SI 2013/109 17 January 2013 
			 4 The Legislative Reform (Constitution of Veterinary Surgeons Preliminary Investigation and Disciplinary Committees) Order 2013 SI 2013/103 17 January 2013 
			 5 The Plant Health (England) (Amendment) Order 2013(1) SI 2013/23 14 January 2013 
			 6 The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/3082 10 December 2012 
			 7 The Seed Marketing (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/3035)(1) SI 2012/3035 3 December 2012 
			 8 The Plant Health (England) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2012 (SI 2012/3033)(1) SI 2012/3033 5 December 2012 
			 9 The Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Amendment) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/3027 3 December 2012 
			 10 The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Amendment) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/3005 3 December 2012 
			 11 The Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/2932 21 November 2012 
			 12 The Plant Health (England) (Amendment) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/2922 21 November 2012 
			 13 The Agriculture, Animals, Environment and Food etc. (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/2897 15 November 2012 
			 14 The Transfer of Functions (Sea Fisheries) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/2747 7 November 2012 
			 15 The Veterinary Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/2711 26 October 2012 
			 16 The Plant Health (Forestry) (Amendment) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/2707 29 October 2012 
			 17 The Zootechnical Standards (England) Regulations 2012 SI 2012/2665 16 October 2012 
			 18 The Public Bodies (Abolition of the Commission for Rural Communities) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/2654 18 October 2012 
			 19 The African Horse Sickness (England) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/2629 15 October 2012 
			 20 The Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/2573 8 October 2012 
			 21 The Public Bodies (Abolition of Environment Protection Advisory Committees) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/2407 18 September 2012 
			 22 The Public Bodies (Abolition of Regional and Local Fisheries Advisory Committees) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/2406 18 September 2012 
			 23 The Controlled Waste (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/2320 7 September 2012 
			 24 The Scallop Fishing (England) Order 2012 SI 2012/2283 5 September 2012 
			 25 The Smoke Control Areas (Exempted Fireplaces) (England) (No. 2) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/2282 5 September 2012 
			 26 The Smoke Control Areas (Authorised Fuels) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/2281 5 September 2012 
			 27 The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (Commencement No. 7) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/2000 30 July 2012 
			 28 The Bluetongue (Amendment) Regulations 2012)(1) SI 2012/1977 25 July 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 29 The Designation of Features (Appeals) (England) Regulations 2012 SI 2012/1945 23 July 2012 
			 30 The Offshore Marine Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 SI 2012/1928 20 July 2012 
			 31 The Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) Regulations 2012 SI 2012/1927 20 July 2012 
			 32 The Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances (Abolition) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/1923 21 July 2012 
			 33 The Waste (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/1889 17 July 2012 
			 34 The Ipswich Barrier Order 2012(1) SI 2012/1867 16 July 2012 
			 35 The Nitrate Pollution Prevention(Amendment) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/1849 13 July 2012 
			 36 The Volatile Organic Compounds in Paints, Varnishes and Vehicle Refinishing Products Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/1715 27 June 2012 
			 37 The Designation of Features (Notices) (England) Regulations 2012 SI 2012/1693 27 June 2012 
			 38 The INSPIRE (Amendment) Regulations 2012(1) SI 2012/1672 1 July 2012 
			 39 The British Waterways Board (Transfer of Functions) Order 2012 SI 2012/1659 1 July 2012 
			 40 The Inland Waterways Advisory Council (Abolition) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/1658 1 July 2012 
			 41 The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012 SI 2012/1657 20 June 2012 
			 42 The Infrastructure Planning (Waste Water Transfer and Storage) Order 2012 SI 2012/1645 22 June 2012 
			 43 The Access to the Countryside (Coastal Margin) (Weymouth Bay) Order 2012(1) SI 2012/1559 18 June 2012 
			 (1) Denotes that the measure does not require an Impact Assessment.

Sick Leave

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many days of paid sickness leave per individual member of staff are authorised in his Department on an annual basis;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to reduce sickness absence in his Department.

Richard Benyon: There is no specific number of authorised days that employees are allowed to take as paid sickness leave per annum. In 2012, the average number of working days lost due to sickness (per staff year) in core DEFRA was 4.1. This has reduced from 6.1 in 2009.
	Steps taken to reduce sickness absence in DEFRA include:
	managing sickness absence in line with DEFRA's Managing Attendance policy, including encouraging employees on long term sickness absence to keep in touch and have discussions with managers
	access to occupational health advice to facilitate rehabilitation and return to work including phased returns and recuperative duties where necessary
	development of a Wellbeing Framework, health promotions and encouraging healthy lifestyle and behaviours (e.g. cycle to work scheme, free health checks, building resilience etc)
	offering assistance through the Employee Assistance Programme, which offers confidential, independent and unbiased advice from trained practitioners, counsellors etc.

Squirrels: Conservation

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has considered including grey squirrel control as part of the Higher Level Environmental Stewardship scheme.

Richard Benyon: Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) is a multi-objective scheme that supports a wide variety of environmental outcomes. Funding is targeted at those agreements that are best able to deliver a range of environmental benefits while ensuring maximum value for money. This means difficult decisions are sometimes necessary in assessing which proposals to fund. For this reason DEFRA and Natural England decided in 2011 not to provide HLS funding for mainly single-issue agreements such as those for grey squirrel control on farmland. We anticipate that these same basic principles will continue to apply to HLS in the future.
	Without new evidence to demonstrate that grey squirrel control would be effective in open farmland habitats (compared to woodland habitats), the cost effectiveness of expenditure on such a measure remains very difficult to justify.
	Funding for grey squirrel control is currently available under the Forestry Commission's English Woodland Grant Scheme. It is targeted around red squirrel strongholds and buffer zones where it is likely to have the greatest impact in conserving the remaining red squirrel populations in northern England.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff are based in each property used by his Department.

Richard Benyon: The number of core DEFRA staff based in each property used by core DEFRA is detailed in the table. Figures are given on a full-time equivalent basis, and are correct as of 31 December 2012.
	
		
			  Number 
			 Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone 10.00 
			 Government Buildings, Whittington Road, Worcester 19.81 
			 Pydar House, Pydar Street, Truro 3.00 
			 Ceres House, 2 Searby Road, Lincoln 2.00 
			 Eden Bridge House, Lowther Street, Carlisle 2.00 
			 Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, Westminster, London 718.89 
			 Ergon House, 17 Smith Square, Westminster, London 485.86 
			 King's Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green, York 327.15 
			 Clyst House, Winslade Park, Clyst St Mary, Exeter 20.13 
			 Chapel Bank Works, Curwen Road, Workington 0.73 
			 Hornbeam House, Crewe Business Park, Electra Way, Crewe 14.82 
			 9 Millbank, Westminster, London 242.44 
			 Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol 90.82 
		
	
	
		
			 Lancaster House, Hampshire Court, Newcastle 9.73 
			 Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge 11.68 
			 Coldharbour Farm, Wye 1.00 
			 Lion House, Willowburn Trading Estate, Great North Road, Alnwick 43.45 
			 Third Floor, Touthill Close, City Road, Peterborough 1.00 
			 25 Queen Street, Leeds 10.21 
			 Foundry House, 3 Millsands, Riverside Exchange, Skipton 1.00 
			 Apex Court, City Link, Bristol 9.42 
			 Ghyll Mount, Penrith 6.00 
			 Total 2031.14

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate his Department's total staffing requirement in full-time equivalent posts for fulfilling its minimum statutory obligations.

Richard Benyon: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost.

CABINET OFFICE

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what occupation costs of each type are incurred for each property used by his Department;
	(2)  how many staff are based in each property used by his Department;
	(3)  what the (a) total floor space and (b) floor space measured in square metres per full-time equivalent post is of properties used by his Department;
	(4)  what the names and locations are of all properties used by officials of his Department; whether those properties are (a) owned by the Department, (b) leased by the Department and (c) subject to a private finance initiative agreement; when existing lease agreements relating to such properties are due to expire; and what the total floor space is of each property;
	(5)  what the names and locations are of all properties used by officials of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office; whether those properties are (a) owned by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office, (b) leased by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office and (c) subject to a private finance initiative agreement; when existing lease agreements relating to such properties are due to expire; and what the total floor space is of each property;
	(6)  how many staff are based in each property used by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office;
	(7)  what the (a) total floor space and (b) floor space measured in square metres per full-time equivalent post is of properties used by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office;
	(8)  what occupation costs of each type are incurred for each property used by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office.

Chloe Smith: The Deputy Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
	The Cabinet Office is consolidating its central property usage to realise savings for the taxpayer and drive up efficiency
	We are delivering substantial savings for the taxpayer through better management of the Government property estate. This is part of a wider programme of efficiency and reform which saved the taxpayer over £12 billion since May 2010.
	Comprehensive property and occupation data for the Cabinet Office can be found within the data.gov.uk website.
	Data.gov.uk
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/epims
	More general property and occupation information can be found within the Quarterly Data Summary, State of the Estate report and the latest Cabinet Office annual report. The links are provided as follows.
	Quarterly Data Summary
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/business-plan-quarterly-data-summary
	State of the Estate report
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/state-estate-2011
	Cabinet Office annual report
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts

Employment: Females

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of women in employment in an (a) part-time and (b) full-time capacity in (i) Glasgow North West constituency, (ii) Glasgow, (iii) Scotland and (iv) the UK in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate he has made of the number of women in employment in an (a) part-time and (b) full-time capacity in (i) Glasgow North West constituency, (ii) Glasgow, (iii) Scotland and (iv) the UK in each of the last five years. (144215)
	The ONS compiles Labour Market Statistics for areas below the UK following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions using the Annual Population Survey (APS).
	The table shows the number of women who were in full-time or part-time employment in the week prior to interview during the relevant reference periods. Estimates have been provided for the 12 month period ending September 2012, the latest available period, and the 12 month periods ending in December from 2008 to 2011.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Number of women employed full-time or part time 
			  Glasgow North West Glasgow Scotland United Kingdom 
			 12 months ending: Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time 
			 December 2008 — — 85 41 704 490 7,739 5,702 
			 December 2009 — — 81 48 694 502 7,600 5,755 
			 December 2010 — — 80 45 675 515 7,589 5,762 
		
	
	
		
			 December 2011 — — 73 49 669 507 7,591 5,801 
			 September 2012(1) ****— ****— **72 ***51 *665 *512 *7,593 *5,861 
			 — Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes (1) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV – for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.# Key * 0 = CV <5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes

Immigration: EU Nationals

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many nationals of other EU member states who are classified as (a) worker, (b) self-employed person, (c) self-sufficient person, (d) student and (e) jobseeker under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 have (i) entered the UK in each year since 2006 and (ii) are living in the UK;
	(2)  how many nationals of other EU member states have been classified as qualified persons under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 who have entered the UK in each year since 2006; and how many such nationals are currently living in the UK.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	and
	(2) how many nationals of other EU member states have been classified as qualified persons under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 who have entered the UK in each year since 2006; and how many such nationals are currently living in the UK.
	(i) ONS produces estimates of Long-Term International Migration (LTIM), primarily based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS). The IPS is a continuous voluntary sample survey conducted by ONS and is the prime source of long-term international migration data for the UK providing estimates of both inflows and outflows. The IPS collects data on immigrants' main reason for migrating to the UK which does not necessarily align to the classifications under the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006. Data on self-employed and self-sufficient people are not collected by the IPS.
	Table 1 shows the IPS estimates of non-British EU citizens migrating to the UK between 2006 and 2011 whose main reason for migrating was work related, to study or to seek work. These are the latest estimates available and were published on 29 November 2012. Estimates for 2012 will be published on 28 November2013.
	(ii) The Annual Population Survey (APS) provides estimates of UK residents by nationality. However information on year of arrival is only collected for those born outside the UK, so the country of birth measure has been used to determine people born within EU member countries. Additionally it is not possible to measure the status of EU born people under the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006 classifications, although the APS can provide estimates based upon the International Labour Organization (ILO) measure. The categories requested have been answered under the ILO measure where possible, with students defined as those currently enrolled on an education course, Data on self-sufficient people is not collected by the APS.
	Table 2 shows the APS estimates of non-UK EU born persons currently resident in the UK who arrived since 2006. These estimates relate to the twelve months ending June 2012. As with any sample survey, estimates from the Annual Population Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty as indicated in the table.
	Please note that there are key definitional and coverage differences between the IPS and APS which means that data derived from these two sources are not directly comparable.
	More detail on the differences between the two surveys can be found in the document ‘Estimating International Migration: An exploration of the definitional differences between the Labour Force Survey, Annual Population Survey, International Passenger Survey and Long-Term International Migration’:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality/sources-of-international-migration-data/differences-between-sources-of-international-migration-data.pdf
	
		
			 Table 1: Long-Term International Migration, estimates from International Passenger Survey (IPS) Migration into the UK of non-British EU citizens by selected main reason for migration, 2006-2011, United Kingdom 
			 Thousand 
			 Main reason for migration 
			    Work related(2)     
			  Total(1) Total work related Definite job Looking for work Formal study Other(3) 
			  Estimate +/-CI Estimate +/-CI Estimate +/-CI Estimate +/-CI Estimate +/-CI Estimate +/-CI 
			 2006 136 26 83 19 55 16 28 11 23 9 30 14 
			 2007 172 29 125 26 93 23 32 12 26 10 21 9 
			 2008 178 28 99 21 70 18 29 11 40 13 40 14 
			 2009 150 19 88 16 59 14 29 7 42 9 20 7 
			 2010 156 21 91 16 57 13 35 9 45 11 19 7 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 158 18 93 14 56 10 37 9 41 8 24 7 
			 CI = 95% Confidence Interval. This refers to the margin of error, and is a measure of the uncertainty associated with making inferences from a sample. (1) This is the sum of “total work related”, “formal study” and “other” (2) “Work related” includes “Definite job” and “Looking for work” (3) “Other” includes those migrating to accompany or join someone and those who stated no reason for migrating Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS) 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of non-UK EU born people currently resident in the UK who arrived since 2006, by status(1): Twelve months ending June 2012, United Kingdom 
			 Thousand 
			  Non-UK EU born 
			  Estimate CV 
			 Population 789 * 
			    
			 Total in employment(2) 582 * 
			 Employee 506 * 
			 Self-employed 76 ** 
			    
			 Unemployed 45 ** 
			    
			 Economically inactive 162 ** 
			    
			 Student(3) 148 ** 
			 (1 )People aged 16 and over (2) This includes employees, self-employed, unpaid family workers and those on government supported training schemes (3) The majority of students are economically inactive, however, in accordance to International Labour Organization (ILO) Guide to Quality in the Annual Population Survey: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes Note: It should be noted that the above Annual Population estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels mobile home sites etc.). Source: Annual Population Survey (ONS)

Working Hours: Females

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average number of hours worked by (a) married women with children and (b) single women with children was in each of the last 30 years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the average number of hours worked by (a) married women with children and (b) single women with children in each of the last 30 years. (144981)
	Estimates have been provided from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) household datasets. They show the estimated average number of hours per week for married and single women with children for the UK in April to June of each year since 1996. It covers hours worked in main job and second job where applicable. It was not possible to provide estimates prior to 1996 as this is the earliest that household datasets are available.
	The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and are not seasonally adjusted. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			 Average number of hours(1 )worked by (i) married women(2) with children(3) and (ii) single women with children, April-June 1996 to 2012, United Kingdom 
			  Average number of hours worked 
			  Married women with children Single women with children 
			 1996 23 23 
			 1997 23 24 
			 1998 23 23 
			 1999 23 24 
			 2000 23 25 
			 2001 23 25 
			 2002 23 24 
			 2003 23 25 
			 2004 23 25 
			 2005 23 25 
			 2006 23 25 
			 2007 23 25 
			 2008 23 25 
			 2009 23 25 
			 2010 23 24 
			 2011 23 24 
			 2012 24 25 
			 (1) Hours worked refers to the average actual hours worked per week in main and second job. (2) Women in employment are aged 16 and over. (3) Dependent children refers to children who are aged between 0-15 and those aged 16-18 who are in full-time education. Source: Labour Force Survey household datasets

WORK AND PENSIONS

Cold Weather Payments: Perth

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) households and (b) individuals in Perth and North Perthshire constituency have received cold weather payments in each of the last three years.

Steve Webb: Cold weather payments are paid based on the temperatures recorded at certain weather stations around the country. Residents in Perth and North Perthshire are covered by a number of weather stations. The following table shows the number of eligible recipients paid at least one cold weather payment with respect to each of these weather stations during the past three years.
	
		
			 Number of benefit units receiving cold weather payments in Perth and North Perthshire weather stations covering Perth and North Perthshire each year 
			  2012-13 to date 2011-12 2010-11 
			 Braemar 1,100 1,200 1,600 
			 Tulloch Bridge 1,800 1,900 5,500 
			 Leuchars — — 85,800 
			 Strathallan 9,500 10,000 119,000 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National Statistics and there are some issues with the data. 2. Cold weather payments are paid out to eligible recipients if an average temperature of 0°C is recorded or forecast for seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to the recipient's postcode. 3. Cold weather payments are made to benefit units rather than to households or individuals. A benefit unit can be a single person or a couple and can include children. The number of individual recipients is not available. 4. The current 2012/13 cold weather season does not finish until 31 March therefore the figure for the number of cold weather payments for 2012/13 is up to 13 February only. 5. The estimated number of benefit units which have received cold weather payments relates to the entire area that the weather station covers, not just to that in the listed parliamentary constituencies and counties. 6. Weather station boundaries are determined by postcode and are not directly linked to parliamentary constituency or county boundaries. it is not possible to break the data down further. 7. All given figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. 8. Between 2010-11 and 2011-12 there were changes made to the postcodes covered by particular weather stations which explains the large decrease in payments between the years for the Strathallan weather station.

Disability Living Allowance: Behaviour Disorders

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the reasons for changes in levels of claims for disability living allowance due to hyperkinetic syndrome and claims for other behavioural disorders.

Esther McVey: Data on numbers of claims to disability living allowance by main disabling condition or special rules criteria is not routinely collected by the Department for Work and Pensions and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Families: Disadvantaged

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of troubled families as defined by the Government that have been assisted through the Work programme in the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: Within the statistics we produce on the performance of the Work programme, we do not hold data which specifically records the number of troubled families assisted.
	Like other groups facing multiple disadvantages, troubled families are able to access help through the Work programme according to their eligibility.

Pension Credit

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners who did not claim pension credit to which they were entitled in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who have not claimed the pension credit to which they are entitled.

Steve Webb: The most recent estimates of take-up cover the period 2009-10. Figures for the number of pensioners entitled to but not receiving pension credit in Great Britain in 2009-10 are presented in the table; estimates of take-up are not available for 2010-11 or 2011-12, nor are they sufficiently robust to present at geographies below Great Britain. As such estimates are not available for Scotland or the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.
	
		
			 Caseload take-up for pension credit, Great Britain, 2009-10 
			  Range of entitled non-recipients (thousand) Take-up ranges (percentages) 
			 2009-10 1,210 : 1,580 62 : 68 
		
	
	The ‘Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up’ report covers Great Britain for the financial year 2009-10. It provides caseload and expenditure estimates of take-up for income support and employment and support allowance (income-related), pension credit, housing benefit (including local housing allowance), council tax benefit and jobseeker's allowance (income-based). The latest release updates the statistics previously released on 10 June 2010. The figures are available online and can be found here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=irb

Universal Credit

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse incurred to date of setting up the universal credit system.

Mark Hoban: Up to the end of January 2013, the DWP has spent £379 million on the design and development of the universal credit system.

Working Tax Credit

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2012, Official Report, column 925W, on working tax credit, on what date his Department will publish the impact assessment.

Sajid Javid: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	An assessment of the impacts of the Welfare Benefits Up-Rating Bill was published on 8 January 2013.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

EU Aid

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bury South of 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 410W, on EU aid, whether any increase in European Development Fund finance will count against the Government's pre-existing commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of GDP on overseas aid.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK share of all EU Official Development Assistance (ODA) is included in the UK's commitment to spending 0.7% of our gross national income on ODA by 2013.

WALES

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the (a) total floor space and (b) floor space measured in square metres per full-time equivalent post is of properties used by his Department.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office is based in both London and Cardiff. The total floor space of the properties is 1,199 square metres giving a floor space of 23 square metres per full-time equivalent post.
	Wales Office Ministers and staff conduct business in both locations. Ministers therefore have offices in both London and Cardiff, and sufficient desk space is needed to enable staff to work at either site.

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the names and locations are of all properties used by officials of his Department; whether those properties are (a) owned by the Department, (b) leased by the Department and (c) subject to a private finance initiative agreement; when existing lease agreements relating to such properties are due to expire; and what the total floor space is of each property.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office is based in both London and Cardiff. The London property, Gwydyr House, is owned by the Department, and has a floor space of 675 square metres.
	Our office in Caspian Point, Cardiff is on a lease which expires on 5 April 2022, and has a floor space of 524 square metres.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff are based in each property used by his Department.

Stephen Crabb: There are currently 16 staff members based in Cardiff, and 35 in London though staff routinely travel between and work in both locations.

SCOTLAND

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the (a) total floor space and (b) floor space measured in square metres per full-time equivalent post is of properties used by his Department.

David Mundell: The total floor space of buildings occupied by the Scotland Office is 2,135.32 m(2). The buildings are shared with the Office of the Advocate General. Space in them is also occupied by the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, the Independent Commission on Aid Impact, the Independent Complaints Reviewer for HM Land Registry, the Information Commissioner's Office, and the Scottish Government. The Scotland Office does not hold information about the number of full time equivalent posts there are among the other users of its buildings.

Food: Waste

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much surplus food was thrown away by his Department in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not have food and catering services and did not have them in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Television

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has held with (a) the Scottish Government, (b) the BBC and (c) Channel 4 on the development of high quality film and TV production space in Scotland.

David Mundell: Scotland Office Ministers have regular discussions with broadcasting stakeholders on issues in Scotland. I hope that the Government's plans for new tax reliefs for high end television drama, animation and video games may encourage investment in the development of high quality film and TV production space in Scotland in the future.

Television: Tax Allowances

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has held with (a) the BBC and (b) Channel 4 on the utilisation of high-end television tax relief in Scotland.

David Mundell: Scotland Office Ministers have regular discussions with a number of broadcasting stakeholders on issues in Scotland. I welcome BBC and Channel 4's ongoing commitment to commissioning production from all over the UK and hope the Government's new tax relief on high end television drama results in more investment in Scotland.

Television: Tax Allowances

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has held with his ministerial colleagues in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport regarding the utilisation of the high end television tax relief in Scotland.

David Mundell: Scotland Office Ministers have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport regarding issues in Scotland. We hope that the high end television tax relief will encourage greater investment in this area in Scotland and across the UK.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Pensions

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the pension calculator will be made available to servicemen and women leaving the services.

Mark Francois: Two pension calculators are currently available.
	The Armed Forces Pension and Annual Allowance Calculator (AFPAAC, version 9.1) provides a guide to the pension benefits that service personnel could expect to receive under Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 or Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005. The AFPAAC can be accessed at the following website:
	www.mod-pc.co.uk
	Personnel who are considering leaving the services on redundancy terms can access the online Armed Forces Redundancy Calculator (AFRC, version five) which gives an approximate forecast of both redundancy compensation and pension entitlements. The AFRC can be accessed at the following website:
	www.mod-rc.co.uk
	Every effort has been made to ensure that the forecasts provided by the armed forces pension and redundancy calculators are as accurate as possible. However, they are provided for guidance purposes only and we recommend that personnel seek assistance from their Unit Human Resources sections to confirm that these forecasts are based on accurate information.
	A new Armed Forces Pension Scheme will be introduced from 2015. As a result the forecasts provided by APFAAC cannot provide complete projections of future entitlement beyond 2015. A revised pensions calculator, incorporating both accrued rights and benefit entitlements under the new scheme, is currently being developed. We anticipate that an initial version of the revised calculator will be on line in the summer. As with the current calculator, not every service career is included within the calculator and such personnel are eligible to request a pension forecast direct from the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA).

Mali

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the cost of UK support for military intervention in Mali has come from his Department.

Andrew Robathan: Discussions are ongoing with other Government Departments to determine the most appropriate source of funding for this operation.

Meetings: Security

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many times since May 2010 the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (a) met and (b) stayed with Sir John Kiszely;
	(2)  how many times and for what reasons (a) Lord Dannatt, (b) Sir John Kiszely, (c) Sir Trevor Soar, (d) Richard Applegate, (e) Lord Stirrup and (f) Sir Mike Jackson have visited his Department since May 2010;
	(3)  on what occasions and for what reasons the Minister of State for the Armed Forces has met with Sir John Kiszely since May 2010;
	(4)  if he will publish details of the occasions on which (a) Lord Dannatt, (b) Sir John Kiszely, (c) Sir Trevor Soar, (d) Richard Applegate, (e) Lord Stirrup and (f) Sir Mike Jackson have visited his Department's main building since retirement;
	(5)  how many former three- and four-star personnel possess security passes for his Department's main building;
	(6)  what meetings Lieutenant General Richard Applegate has had with (a) Ministers, (b) civil servants and (c) senior military personnel since May 2010; and what was discussed at each such meeting;
	(7)  what meetings (a) General Sir Peter Wall and (b) General Sir David Richards have had with General Sir Mike Jackson since May 2010; and what was discussed at each such meeting;
	(8)  what meetings (a) Air Marshall Sir Stephen Hillier and (b) Lord Astor of Hever have had with Lord Stirrup since May 2010; and what was discussed at each such meeting;
	(9)  whether (a) General Sir David Richards, (b) General Sir Peter Wall and (c) General Sir Nick Parker have met Sir John Kiszley in an official capacity in 2012.

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many formal meetings have taken place between (a) Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, (b) Lieutenant-General Sir John Kiszley, (c) Lieutenant-General Richard Applegate, (d) General Lord Dannatt, (e) Lord Stirrup and (f) General Sir Mike Jackson and Ministers and senior civil servants in his Department since May 2010;
	(2)  how many times (a) Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, (b) Lieutenant-General Sir John Kiszley, (c) Lieutenant-General Richard Applegate, (d) General Lord Dannatt, (e) Lord Stirrup and (f) General Sir Mike Jackson have visited (i) his Department and (ii) other Government Departments since May 2010;
	(3)  how many times (a) Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, (b) Lieutenant-General Sir John Kiszley, (c) Lieutenant-General Richard Applegate, (d) General Lord Dannatt, (e) Lord Stirrup and (f) General Sir Mike Jackson have visited (i) his Department and (ii) other Government Departments within two years of each of their retirements since May 2010;
	(4)  how many times (a) Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, (b) Lieutenant-General Sir John Kiszley, (c) Lieutenant-General Richard Applegate, (d) General Lord Dannatt, (e) Lord Stirrup and (f) General Sir Mike Jackson have visited (i) his Department and (ii) other Government Departments to discuss the final stages of a procurement bid with Ministers or senior officials since May 2010;
	(5)  on how many occasions the Minister of State for the Armed Forces has met Sir John Kiszely since May 2010; and on how many such occasions formal meetings of the meetings were taken;
	(6)  which people employed in the defence industry hold passes entitling them to enter his Department's premises;
	(7)  how many people employed by companies who have contracts with his Department hold passes entitling them to enter his Department's premises.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 18, 19 and 22 October 2012
	Information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building is being compiled as part of the permanent secretary's review into allegations made in The Sunday Timesabout the access arrangements for retired personnel.
	Information is also being compiled on the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years.
	His review is expected to conclude shortly and I will write to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) and the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy) when it is complete.
	Substantive answer from Philip Dunne to Kevan Jones and Jim Murphy:
	I write in response to Parliamentary Questions regarding the number of occasions that senior retired officers have visited the MOD over the last few years and information on third parties who have passes to access the Ministry of Defence (MOD) main building. The Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Hon. Andrew Robathan MP, informed you that we would provide this information once the Permanent Secretary had reviewed the access that six named retired military officers maintain to Defence, the rules around such access, compliance with those rules, and the level of transparency adopted by the Department. Following my announcement in the House today, I am pleased to confirm the details of our review.
	This review has taken some time to complete, as a central record, of meetings between MOD staff and retired personnel is not kept. The size of the Department and the natural turnover of staff would make this an impossible and disproportionate task to record routinely. However, the review exercise has gathered an extensive amount of information about the level of access that the six named individuals maintained to senior civilian and military staff. It found no evidence to indicate that retired or former employees have, or are able, to influence any MOD equipment contracts.
	A rigorous process is used for the approval of all equipment projects which involves non-advocate scrutiny of all major investment decisions by an Investment Approvals Committee which provides advice to Ministers and the Accounting Officer.
	The overall number of occasions the six named individuals have had contact with senior MOD civilian and military staff since their retirement is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of occasions of access to senior MOD personnel 
			 Admiral Sir Trevor Soar 15 
			 Lord Stirrup 37 
			 Lt Gen Richard Applegate 51 
			 Lord Dannatt 21 
		
	
	
		
			 Lt Gen Sir John Kiszely 37 
			 General Sir Mike Jackson 59 
			 Total 268 
		
	
	The review also addressed the nature of the contact that has been maintained by the six named individuals with senior civilian and military staff in the MOD, which is summarised in the following table.
	
		
			 Nature of meetings: Number 
			 Procurement 39 
			 Industry Sponsored 25 
			 Academic 5B 
			 Charitable 13 
			 Ceremonial 7 
			 Regimental 32 
			 Inquiry Related 7 
			 Social 31 
			 House of Lords—Stirrup 6 
			 House of Lords—Dannatt 3 
			 House of Lords—Both 47 
			 Total 268 
		
	
	The findings show that the vast majority of the contact that the six individuals maintained with the MOD contact was not to discuss procurement of equipment. The vast majority of the 39 occasions when the named individuals were identified as having discussed procurement were entirely within the rules and occurred beyond the period of any individual's lobbying ban. However, the review did find that one former General had breached the restrictions that related to his new employment - imposed on him by the Business Appointments process.
	An audit of meetings shows that on 9 occasions Lt Gen Dick Applegate discussed defence equipment with the MOD which were considered in breach of the rules placed upon him since his retirement. None of these meetings resulted in any sales or influenced the MOD'S equipment plan and the MOD has reported this contact to the Cabinet Office - who have responsibility for the Advisory Committee for Business Appointments (ACOBA) - and made clear to the individual that such behaviour is not acceptable.
	It is clear from enquiries made that this has been an issue at the MOD not only under this Government but also under the previous administration too. Enquiries have shown for example that under the previous Labour Government 7 former Chiefs continued to have security passes after they had retired, in some cases for a number of years.
	In answer to your specific questions, the following tables provide details of meetings and other encounters between Ministers, General Sir David Richards, General Sir Peter Wall and Air Marshal Stephen Hillier with any of Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszley, Lieutenant General Richard Applegate, General Lord Dannatt, Lord Stirrup and General Sir Mike Jackson.
	Ministers
	
		
			 Month of meeting Minister Name of Retired Officer Met Purpose of Meeting 
			 June 2010 Min (ISS), Gerald Howarth Gen Sir Mike Jackson To discuss the Bloody Sunday Inquiry 
			 July 2010 Min (DPWV), right hon. Andrew Robathan Lt Gen Sir John Kiszely Royal British Legion Reception (which Sir John may have attended) 
		
	
	
		
			 March 2011 Min (DPWV), right hon. Andrew Robathan Lt Gen Sir John Kiszely Formation of the National Memorial Arboretum 
			 April 2011 USofS, Lord Astor Lord Dannatt Defence Update 
			 May 2011 Min(DEST), Peter Luff Lord Stirrup Minister was keynote speaker at UK Defence Forum Dinner 
			 May 2011 Min(ISS) Gerald Howarth Lord Dannatt Private lunch in the House of Commons 
			 August 2011 Secretary of State, Dr Liam Fox Gen Sir Mike Jackson To discuss DIO 
			 September 2011 Min(DPWV), right hon. Andrew Robathan Lt Gen Sir John Kiszely Royal British Legion 90(th) Anniversary Thanksgiving Service and Reception (which Sir John may have attended) 
			 November 2011 Min(DEST), Peter Luff Gen Sir Mike Jackson Minister was a keynote speaker at the Defence Acquisition Conference in Shrivenham attended by the General 
			 September 2012 USofS, Lord Astor Lord Dannatt Haig Homes lunch hosted by Lord Dannatt 
		
	
	Since May 2010, Lord Astor of Hever has held around 20 routine defence briefings for Peers. Lord Dannatt (and, since retirement, Lord Stirrup) have been invited to these. These have not been included in the return.
	General Sir David Richards (Chief of Defence Staff)
	
		
			 Month of Meeting Named of Retired Officer Met Purpose of Meeting 
			 April 2011 Lt Gen Sir John Kiszely Telephone conversation on Friends of the Forces Awards 
			 May 2011 Lord Stirrup Former CDS Briefing 
			 November 2011 Lord Stirrup Former CDS Briefing 
			 May 2012 Lord Stirrup Former CDS Briefing 
		
	
	General Sir Peter Wall (Chief of General Staff)
	
		
			 Month of Meeting Name of Retired Officer Met Purpose of Meeting 
			 February 2011 Lord Dannatt Routine Meeting 
			 March 2011 Lord Stirrup Routine Meeting 
			 May 2011 Lord Stirrup Routine Meeting 
			 July 2011 Lt Gen Sir John Kiszely Routine Meeting with Babcock 
		
	
	
		
			 October 2011 Lord Stirrup Routine Meeting 
			 October 2011 Gen Sir Mike Jackson Army 2020 
			 February 2012 Gen Sir Mike Jackson Army 2020 
			 March 2012 Gen Sir Mike Jackson Army 2020 
			 May 2012 Lord Dannatt Army 2020 
			 May 2012 Gen Sir Mike Jackson Army 2020 
			 May 2012 Lord Stirrup Routine Meeting 
			 June 2012 Gen Sir Mike Jackson Army 2020 
			 July 2012 Lord Dannatt Army 2020 
			 July 2012 Gen Sir Mike Jackson Army 2020 
		
	
	Air Vice Marshal (now Air Marshal) Stephen Hillier (Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Military Capability) (meetings held when he was Director of Information Superiority)
	
		
			 Month of Meeting Name of Retired Officer Met Purpose of Meeting 
			 October 2010 Gen Sir Mike Jackson Defence Leaders Forum and Dinner organised by PA Consulting 
			 March 2011 Gen Sir Mike Jackson Charitable Incorporated Organisation Forum Dinner organised by PA Consulting 
			 June 2011 Lt Gen Richard Applegate Elbit Systems capabilities 
		
	
	There are no records of any meetings between General Sir Nick Parker and the six listed individuals during the period in question. I can also confirm Andrew Robathan has never stayed as a guest with Sir John Kiszely. Details of meetings between the six named individuals and any other military or civilian members of the MOD could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The MOD does not hold information about visits to other Government departments.
	In light of the findings the Defence Secretary has taken steps to tighten up access and ensure that there cannot be any perception that former employees can exert influence on contracts awarded by the Department.
	In order to prevent future occurrences, the Defence Secretary has implemented a comprehensive set of measures to ensure that both former and current employees are clear about the rules and restrictions in place. Under the new approach:
	For the first time a list of all ex MOD personnel who are subject to lobbying restrictions under ACOBA will be available for all MOD staff to see;
	All staff who leave the Department will now be required to sign a declaration as part of their application if they wish to take up industry posts;
	The MOD Permanent Secretary has written to all former MOD personnel subject to business appointment restrictions to remind them of their duties under ACOBA;
	The Permanent Secretary has also written to the Association of Defence suppliers to ensure industry members are aware of the Cabinet Office rules;
	Transparency measures have been drastically increased - the Permanent Secretary, Chief of Defence Materiel and the Service Chiefs will now be required to publish details of any meetings with external organisations or individuals and of hospitality received. Additionally, selected senior civil servants and military personnel with a commercial aspect to their role will also have to comply with this new transparency agenda;
	All MOD staff, both military and civilian, have been reminded by the Permanent Secretary and Chief of Defence Staff of the rules that limit contact with individuals and companies and directed that they need to seek guidance and clearance before any contact is made.
	Since the Review the Permanent Secretary has removed almost 2,500 passes allowing access to the MOD'S Main Building to ensure that since Christmas only those members of staff who require regular access to the MOD are granted it. Passes that have not been used for sixty days have been disabled and there will be an ongoing audit of those being granted visitor passes.

Trident

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will estimate the total cost to the public purse to date of payments to the US administration for the storage and reprocessing of Trident missiles at the Strategic Weapons Facility;
	(2)  if he will estimate the total paid in annual fees to the US government for the storage and reprocessing of Trident missiles at the Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic, Kings Bay, Georgia since the Polaris Sales Agreement was signed.

Philip Dunne: Under the Polaris Sales Agreement 1963 as amended for Trident in 1982, the UK pays the US Department of Defence (DoD) an annual contribution towards the overall cost of the US Navy's Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic at Kings Bay, Georgia. This contribution is based on the UK's share of the overall missile inventory.
	Reprocessing costs commenced in 2002; the total paid since then being $155 million. This figure includes all activities undertaken at Kings Bay; reprocessing and storage costs are not held separately. Included in these payments is the US DoD administration charge of 3% at a total value of $4.5 million.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the relationship between the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and political radicalisation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence regularly reviews risks to UK interests from political radicalisation in Afghanistan and Pakistan of which there are a range of potential contributing factors.

Veterans: Personal Independence Payment

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the number of injured serving and ex-service personnel that stand to benefit from the decision to create an armed forces independence payment.

Mark Francois: holding answer 25 January 2013
	As of January 2013 we have identified some 700 seriously injured service and ex-service personnel eligible to apply for the Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP) which comes into force on 8 April 2013.
	The number of personnel who will benefit from AFIP in the future will depend on the pace of operations and other factors potentially outside Ministry of Defence control. We currently expect the flow of new claimants to be fewer than 100 per year.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff were employed by his Department in each of the last five years; and at what grade or pay band such staff were appointed.

Alistair Burt: We have interpreted the question to mean how many staff were employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the each of the last five years, broken down by grade. All the figures shown are based on the headcount as at 31 March in each year.
	These figures do not include FCO Services, an Executive Agency of the FCO, staff working for the UK Border Agency or locally engaged staff employed overseas.
	
		
			 Grade March 2008 March 2009 March 2010 March 2011 March 2012 
			 Al (AA) 140 122 133 107 54 
			 A2 (AO) 814 843 843 833 791 
			 B3 (EO) 970 976 980 920 850 
			 C4 (HEO) 920 972 1,017 968 968 
			 C5 (SEO) 392 404 381 401 403 
			 D6 (Grade 7) 742 788 770 714 700 
			 D7 (Grade 6) 272 302 325 325 360 
			 SMS 418 415 415 395 395 
			 Other 10 12 126 123 55 
			 Total 4,678 4,834 4,990 4,786 4,576 
		
	
	In December 2012 the FCO revised its approach to recording staff headcount, adopting a new methodology in line with Office for National Statistics guidelines. We have recalculated past headcount using this approach in order to establish a more consistent and reliable dataset, enhancing our ability to monitor trends, identify gaps and deliver the FCO Strategic Workforce Plan.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate his Department's total staffing requirement in full-time equivalent posts for fulfilling its minimum statutory obligations.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs core responsibilities to implement the Government’s foreign policy are mostly conducted under the royal prerogative rather than under statute.
	A number of staff will have a percentage of their time devoted to statutory activities, but we would need to search through individual job descriptions, incurring disproportionate cost, to determine exact numbers.

Treaties

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the agreement between the British Government and the Rajah of Sarawak, for the establishment of a British Protectorate; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(2)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligation by the signatory states in respect of the agreement between the British Government and the Rajah of Sarawak, for the establishment of a British Protectorate; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the agreement between the Government of Her Britannic Majesty, on behalf of the Sultans of Perak and Pahang, and the Government of his Siamese Majesty for the definition of Boundaries; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(4)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligation by the signatory states in respect of the agreement between the Government of Her Britannic Majesty, on behalf of the Sultans of Perak and Pahang, and the Government of his Siamese Majesty for the definition of Boundaries; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the agreement between Great Britain and Johore, for the regulation of the Relations between Johore and the Straits Settlements; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(6)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligation by the signatory states in respect of the agreement between Great Britain and Johore, for the regulation of the Relations between Johore and the Straits Settlements; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the Convention between the British Government and the government of Hamburgh, for regulating the postal communications with Heligoland; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(2)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory states in respect of the Convention between the British Government and the government of Hamburgh, for regulating the postal communications with Heligoland; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the Convention between Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia, on the one part, and Turkey on the other, for the Pacification of the Levant; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(4)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory states in respect of the Convention between Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia, on the one part, and Turkey on the other, for the Pacification of the Levant; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the Agreement between Great Britain and Germany, respecting Zanzibar, Heligoland and the Spheres of Influence of the two countries in Africa; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(6)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory states in respect of the Agreement between Great Britain and Germany, respecting Zanzibar, Heligoland and the Spheres of Influence of the two countries in Africa; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library.

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the Exchange of Notes between the Irish Free State and Germany regarding Modification and Prolongation of Exchange of Notes concerning Commercial Relations of January 28, 1935; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory states in respect of those obligations;
	(2)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory states in respect of the Exchange of Notes between the Irish Free State and Germany regarding Modification and Prolongation of Exchange of Notes concerning Commercial Relations of January 28, 1935; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the Telegraphic Convention between the Cape of Good Hope, Natal and the Orange Free State; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(4)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory parties in respect of the Telegraphic Convention between the Cape of Good Hope, Natal and the Orange Free State; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the Protocol between Great Britain, Germany and Spain, respecting the Sovereignty of Spain over the Sulu Archipelago (Renunciation by Spain of Claims to Sovereignty in Borneo; British North Borneo Company; &c.) and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(6)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory states in respect of the Protocol between Great Britain, Germany and Spain, respecting the Sovereignty of Spain over the Sulu Archipelago (Renunciation by Spain of Claims to Sovereignty in Borneo; British North Borneo Company; &c.) and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library.

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the Convention of Commerce and Navigation between Great Britain, on the one part, and Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Wurtemburg, Baden, the Electorate of Hesse, the Grand Duchy of Hesse, the States forming the Customs and Commercial Union of Thuringia, Nassau, and Frankfort, on the other part; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory states in respect of those obligations;
	(2)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory states in respect of the Convention of Commerce and Navigation between Great Britain, on the one part, and Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Wurtemburg, Baden, the Electorate of Hesse, the Grand Duchy of Hesse, the States forming the Customs and Commercial Union of Thuringia, Nassau, and Frankfort, on the other part; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the Treaty between Great Britain, Bavaria, France, Greece and Russia, relative to the Succession to the Crown of Greece; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory states in respect of those obligations;
	(4)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory states in respect of the Treaty between Great Britain, Bavaria, France, Greece and Russia, relative to the Succession to the Crown of Greece; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the Commercial Agreement between the High Commissioner for South Africa and the Governor-General of Mozambique regulating the Commercial Relations between Swaziland, Basutoland and the Bechuanaland Protectorate and the Portuguese Colony of Mozambique; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory states in respect of those obligations;
	(6)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory states in respect of the Commercial Agreement between the High Commissioner for South Africa and the Governor-General of Mozambique regulating the Commercial Relations between Swaziland, Basutoland and the Bechuanaland Protectorate and the Portuguese Colony of Mozambique; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library.

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory parties in respect of the Treaty between Great Britain and Texas for the suppression of the African Slave Trade; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations as set out in the agreement between the Governor of the Straits Settlements and certain Inland Petty Malacca States for placing them under English Protection—Extradition Article; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(3)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory parties in respect of the agreement between the Governor of the Straits Settlements and certain Inland Petty Malacca States for placing them under English Protection—Extradition Article; and if he will place a copy of the relevant documentation in the Library;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations as set out in the Convention between Great Britain and Texas relative to the public debt of Mexico; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(5)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory parties in respect of the Convention between Great Britain and Texas relative to the public debt of Mexico; and if he will place a copy of the relevant documentation in the Library;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations as set out in the Additional Convention between Her Britannic Majesty's Government and the Government of His Highness the Khedive of Egypt for the Conveyance of the British Mails to and from the East Indies and Australia; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(7)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory parties in respect of the Additional Convention between Her Britannic Majesty's Government and the Government of His Highness the Khedive of Egypt for the Conveyance of the British Mails to and from the East Indies and Australia; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(8)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations as set out in the Treaty between Great Britain and Texas for the suppression of the African Slave Trade; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(9)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations as set out in the Treaty between Great Britain, Austria, Belgium, France, Hanover, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Oldenburg, Netherlands, Prussia, Russia, Sweden and Norway, and the Hanse Towns, on the one part, and Denmark, on the other part, for the Redemption of the Sound Dues; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory states in respect of those obligations;
	(10)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory states in respect of the Treaty between Great Britain, Austria, Belgium, France, Hanover, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Oldenburg, Netherlands, Prussia, Russia, Sweden and Norway, and the Hanse Towns, on the one part, and Denmark, on the other part, for the Redemption of the Sound Dues; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(11)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations as set out in the Treaty with the King of Dahomey, Peace, Commerce, Slave Trade, Human Sacrifices; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory state in respect of those obligations;
	(12)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory state in respect of the Treaty with the King of Dahomey, Peace, Commerce, Slave Trade, Human Sacrifices; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library;
	(13)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations as set on in the Convention between the UK and the US respecting the boundary between the Dominion of Canada and Alaska; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook bilateral or multilateral talks with the signatory states in respect of those obligations;
	(14)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory states in respect of the Convention between the UK and the US respecting the boundary between the Dominion of Canada and Alaska; and if he will place a copy of any relevant documentation in the Library.

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations in terms of the Convention between Great Britain and Germany establishing a customs union between the Gold Coast Colony, East of the Volta and Togoland; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(2)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory parties in respect of the Convention between Great Britain and Germany establishing a customs union between the Gold Coast Colony, East of the Volta and Togoland; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the relevant documentation;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations as set out in the Agreement between Great Britain and Colombia extending the Extradition Treaty of 27 October 1888 to Bechuanaland Protectorate, East Africa Protectorate, Gambia Protectorate, North East Rhodesia, North West Rhodesia, North Nigeria, Northern Territories of the Gold Coast, Nyasaland, Sierra Leone Protectorate, South Nigeria Protectorate, South Rhodesia, Swaziland and the Uganda Protectorate; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of whether the UK has discharged its outstanding legal obligations as set out in the Convention between Great Britain and the South African Republic, defining the new boundary of the South African Republic, and providing for the renunciation by the South African Republic on behalf of the New Republic of claim to exercise a Protectorate over Zululand &c; and on what date prior to 31 December 2012 his Department last undertook (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral talks with the signatory parties in respect of those obligations;
	(5)  when his Department last recorded concern relating to breaches of treaty obligations by the signatory parties in respect of the Convention between Great Britain and the South African Republic, defining the new boundary of the South African Republic, and providing for the renunciation by the South African Republic on behalf of the New Republic of claims to exercise a Protectorate over Zululand &c; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the relevant documentation.

David Lidington: The several thousand ‘live’ treaties to which the UK is party, play a crucial role in governing the UK's place in the world and its relations with other states, to the benefit of all its people. Such treaties include extradition, mutual legal assistance, military co-operation, double taxation, tax information exchange, and aviation treaties, to name but a few. They also include the founding treaties of international organisations, such as the EU and NATO. In the event of Scottish independence, the remainder of the UK would continue as a party to these treaties, while the new independent Scottish state would have to go through a process of becoming a party to (or confirming its participation in) however many of those treaties it wished to join.
	Some of the 14,000 treaties on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office UK Treaties Online database are either no longer in force, or they are no longer in force for the UK because they were concluded by the United Kingdom on behalf of a former colonial territory. The treaty referred to in the question is likely to fall into one of these categories.

HEALTH

NHS Trust Mergers

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on NHS trust mergers.

Daniel Poulter: It is for local health care organisations to decide what is best for their patients. If a national health service trust decides to merge with other NHS organisations, they must take into account the necessary community, NHS and stakeholder consultation requirements in addition to regulatory requirements.

Epilepsy

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of care for people with epilepsy across England; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: We have made no assessment. The commissioning and delivery of epilepsy services are the responsibility of the national health service at a local level. Joint strategic needs assessments help local commissioners to identify gaps in service provision, areas of poor outcome and the future needs of their local populations.

Public Health

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his priorities are for public health.

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has made it a personal priority to put us up there with the best in Europe when it comes to reducing preventable deaths—no Government has set itself such a challenge before.
	We know what the big killers are—cancer, heart, stroke, respiratory and liver disease—we all have a role in tackling them: central Government, the national health service, local government, the voluntary sector and the public.
	We know we need to take action to prevent disease and illness, get better at diagnosing illness earlier and do more to manage the major risk factors such as raised blood pressure and diabetes, and make sure more people have access to the best treatment available.
	We know we can improve everyone's health if people stop smoking, drink less alcohol, take more exercise and eat more healthy food. ‘Improving Outcomes and Supporting Transparency: A Public Health Outcomes Framework for England, 2013-16’ (Jan 2012) sets out a broad range of measures that will help keep track on how well we are doing as a nation and at local authority level to improve people's health and wellbeing. A copy of the framework has already been placed in the Library.

Adult Mental Health Services

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the change was in the level of spending in real terms on adult mental health services in 2011-12.

Norman Lamb: It is the responsibility of local commissioners to ensure that resources are used effectively to meet the needs of their local population. The ‘National Survey of Investment in Adult Mental Health Services 2012’ reports cash investment in mental health services rising between 2010-11 and 2011-12 and real term investment falling by 1%.

School and Hospital Food

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether food entering schools and hospitals is healthy and safe; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Department is working closely with the Food Standards Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to maintain food standards and safety, and to investigate any health risks to patients and the public.
	In relation to the recent discovery of horsemeat in the food chain we are doing what we can to establish the facts, and will take appropriate action if we find that horsemeat has entered the national health service food supply chain.

Dementia

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to improve dementia diagnosis rates and to reduce regional variations in such diagnoses.

Norman Lamb: There are unacceptable variations in the level of dementia diagnosis across the country and we are committed to driving significant improvements.
	We have asked local areas, through the NHS Mandate, to make measurable progress in improving dementia diagnosis over the next two years, which should reduce the variation and ensure access to timely diagnosis.

Dementia

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the placeholder indicator for enhancing the quality of life for people with dementia in the NHS Outcomes Framework will be fully established.

Norman Lamb: The Prime Minister announced a ‘dementia challenge’ focused on boosting diagnosis rates, improving research and creating dementia friendly communities. In support of the PM Challenge on Dementia, the placeholder indicator 2.6 ‘Enhancing the quality of life for people with dementia’ was updated in November 2012. For 2013-14, the NHS Outcomes Framework includes a two-part indicator, the first part of which measures diagnosis rates for people with dementia, there being evidence that receiving early diagnosis is an important outcome for people living with dementia and their carers, enabling them to better cope with their condition and improving their health-related quality of life.
	As diagnosis rate is not a direct measure of the outcome sought, a second complementary measure is being developed which will measure the effectiveness of post-diagnosis care in sustaining independence and improving quality of life. This indicator will be shared with the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework. The data and methodology that the indicator will be based on are currently being assessed for their robustness as part of a Department of Health-funded research programme. Preliminary results are expected in mid 2014, so the date when the indicator will be available is not yet known at this stage.

GP Recruitment

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase recruitment of GPs.

Daniel Poulter: The Department and Health Education England are currently working with key stakeholders to support the increase of training numbers in general practice. A national general practitioner taskforce has been established by the Medical Programme Board to support this work. The taskforce's remit is to make recommendations to the board on education, work force, cost and timescales for appointing to 3,250 training posts each year from 2015. This would be an increase of 550 training posts when compared to the 2,700 posts appointed in 2012.

Alcoholic Drinks

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the level of alcohol-related absenteeism in his Department; whether his Department has an (a) internal alcohol policy and (b) occupational health strategy; and if he will publish such documents.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has not made any estimates of the level of alcohol-related absenteeism. Our Business Management System uses the Cabinet Office classifications for sickness absence recording, which do not include a specific category for alcohol related absence.
	The Department does not currently have an internal alcohol policy. However, the Department's mental health policy describes increased use of alcohol as a characteristic of stress and mental health problem symptoms, and guides managers in providing a healthy and safe environment for all employees including mental well-being.
	The Department, alongside many other organisations recognises the benefits of providing occupational health services for their staff. Staff have access to occupational health services provided by Medigold and counselling services provided by Rightcore. Staff may access these services either via management and/or human resources referral or by a self referral process. In addition, staff have access to various voluntary care and support services such as the Benenden Healthcare Society and the Charity for Civil Servants.
	The Department also offers a Health and Wellbeing programme that aims to promote, support and encourage health and well-being for staff through a programme of regular activities, information and events on a range of issues each year.

Ambulance Services

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions ambulances have been placed on divert from (a) Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Woolwich, (b) Prince Royal University Hospital, Farnborough and (c) King's College Hospital in the last 12 months.

Anna Soubry: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Accident and emergency (A&E) divert information is not collected centrally as a routine data report throughout the year. It is only collected and then subsequently published as part of the Department's Winter Pressures Reporting (national health service emergency and urgent care data).
	In the period 6 November 2012 to 3 February 2013, South London Healthcare NHS Trust reported nine A&E diverts, and King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust reported none.
	Winterwatch (the Department's dedicated website tool) provides regular weekly updates about how the NHS is coping with the increased demands on its services during the winter months (including A&E diversions). Data are collected on a rapid and daily turn-round basis from the NHS. The speed of the collection only permits minimal validation to be undertaken, but is considered ‘fit-for-purpose’. More information can be obtained from the following website:
	http://transparency.dh.gov.uk/2012/10/26/winter-pressures-daily-situation-reports-2012-13/

Antibiotics

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether his Department has analysed the potential for antibiotic resistance in animals to be transferred to humans via consumption or direct contact;
	(2)  if his Department will examine the use of antibiotics in farming as a causal factor of immunity to antimicrobials in humans within the new cross-Government Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and Action Plan.

Daniel Poulter: The exact frequency and the pathways of transmission of resistance from animals to humans are still not well understood(1). However, the Department is advised by the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections, the DEFRA Antimicrobial Resistance Co-ordination group and the European Centre for Disease Control that the use of antimicrobials in human, not veterinary, medicine is the main driving force for antimicrobial-resistant human infections(2).
	Promoting responsible prescribing and effective administration of antibiotics in both human and animals is a key area for action within the new cross-Government strategy: “UK Five year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and Action plan 2013-2018”, which will be published this spring.
	(1) www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/pdf/ESBL_report.pdf
	(2 )www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/antimicrobial_resistance/basic/Pages/factsheet_experts.aspx

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what occupation costs of each type are incurred for each property used by his Department;
	(2)  how many staff are based in each property used by his Department;
	(3)  what the (a) total floor space and (b) floor space measured in square metres per full-time equivalent post is of properties used by his Department;
	(4)  what the names and locations are of all properties used by officials of his Department; whether those properties are (a) owned by the Department, (b) leased by the Department and (c) subject to a private finance initiative agreement; when existing lease agreements relating to such properties are due to expire; and what the total floor space is of each property.

Daniel Poulter: Information on the Department's estate can be found in the State of the Estate report which is published annually and provided on the following website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/state-estate-2011
	Quarterly data is provided on the following website:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/epims
	The Department is currently going through a transition period while delivering the new health and social care system. This also entails collocation of some of the new organisations onto our core estate, which will mean that staff numbers in buildings will increase as estate is rationalised. As a result, the full-time equivalent (FTE) figures are subject to fluctuation and will change as the new organisations are established from 1 April 2013.
	The Department's property occupancies, costs and space are identified in the following table and include NHS Connecting for Health (NHS CfH) properties.
	
		
			 Names Locations Lease expiries Occupation costs (£) (2011-12) Total floor space Staff based (September 2012) Floor space per FTE 
			 Owned       
			 Richmond House London n/a 3,692,933 13,251 1,050 12.6 
			 Wellington House London n/a 2,588,073 11,232 1,024 10.9 
			 Hexagon House (NHS CfH) Exeter n/a 235,732 1,300 129 10.1 
			        
			 Leased       
			 Skipton House London 20 December 2016 8,595,955 19,924 1,647 12.l 
			 Premier House Reading 31 October 2012 782,070 1,775 23 78.0 
			 Prospect House (NHS CfH) Redditch 18 October 2013 226,921 934 75 12.4 
			 Hembury House (NHS CfH) Exeter 25 September 2013 238,519 828 103 8.0 
			 Units 9 and 10 (NHS CfH) Bolden Colliery 30 September 2014 91,300 464 28 16.6 
			 Vantage (NHS CfH) Leeds 31 March 2015 (1)(, 2)6,112,370 2,575 346 7.4 
			 1 Whitehall Quay (NHS CfH) Leeds 31 March 2015 (2)— 1,918 302 6.4 
			 Princes Exchange (NHS CfH) Leeds 31 December 2014 (2)— 2,177 337 6.5 
			        
			 MOTO(3)       
			 Quarry House Leeds 31 March 2018 7,390,190 17,190 1,685 10.2 
			 Townley House Burnley 31 March 2014 (4)53,000 244 9 27.1 
			 Castleview House Runcorn (CMU)(5) 31 October 2012 56,340 300 36 8.3 
			 (1 )Costs not provided as commercial in confidence. (2) Indicates a brace. (3) Memorandum of Terms of Occupation. (4) Recently occupied so full-year occupations costs estimated. (5) Commercial Medicines Unit (CMU). Property to be closed. 
		
	
	NHS CfH are being merged with the NHS Information Centre and a property rationalisation programme is planned by the new Health and Social Care Information Centre.
	Most of the properties listed are close to the expected property benchmarks for space efficiency. The outliers are Premier House and Townley House. Premier House is currently being restacked to collocate three new organisations into the building, which will bring the space efficiency targets to below 10 square metres (sqm) per FTE. Townley House is used to accommodate staff who manage the departmental records and require additional space for files that are being reviewed.

Cancer

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much funding was spent on research into (a) all types of cancer, (b) site-specific cancer and (c) brain cancer in each year between 2002 and 2011; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many funding applications the National Institute for Health Research received for (a) cancer and (b) brain cancer in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) is a United Kingdom-wide partnership between the Government, charity and industry which promotes co-operation in cancer research among the 22 member organisations. An analysis of spend data submitted by NCRI partners covering the period from 2002 to 2011 is available on the NCRI website at:
	www.ncri.org.uk/includes/Publications/general/Data_package_11.xls
	This analysis includes data for all cancer research, for site-specific research and for individual sites including brain tumours. Between 2002 and 2011, the proportion of site-specific funding spent on brain tumour research increased by a greater amount than for any other cancer site.
	In 2011-12, the National Institute for Health Research received 382 funding applications for cancer research, of which two had a focus on brain cancer.

Childbirth

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many births per full-time equivalent NHS midwife there were in each trust in England in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not available in the format requested. Information on the number of births per full-time equivalent NHS midwife by strategic health authority (SHA) for the latest years available is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 SHA 2009 2010 2011 
			 England 28.9 29.1 29.7 
			     
			 North East 34.4 33.8 34.4 
			 North West 34.0 32.8 32.6 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 30.5 30.9 31.4 
			 East Midlands 25.3 25.9 26.9 
			 West Midlands 30.7 30.5 30.1 
			 East of England 24.4 25.0 27.3 
			 London 26.5 28.3 29.4 
			 South East Coast 28.6 28.9 29.6 
			 South Central 24.9 24.9 25.1 
			 South West 32.4 31.8 30.5 
			 Notes: 1. Trust level data is not available centrally due to the incompatibility of the level of data collected in the Non-Medical Workforce Census with the Office for National Statistics births data. 2. Figures are calculated on the full-time equivalent number of registered midwives. Midwife data is as at 30 September each year. 3. Figures are calculated on the numbers of all births in England. 4. Figures are rounded to one decimal place. Sources: 1. Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census. 2. Office for National Statistics, Vital Statistics, 2011 VS1 table

Continuing Care

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many refund claims for NHS Continuing Care have been received by primary care trusts in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Salford since 30 September 2012;
	(2)  how many requests for retrospective assessment of NHS Continuing Care are waiting to be processed by primary care trusts in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Salford.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not routinely collect information on the number of requests for retrospective assessment of NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC) or on the number of refund requests for NHS CHC that are received by primary care trusts and are waiting to be processed.
	However, following the introduction on 15 March 2012, of deadlines for requests for assessments of eligibility for NHS CHC for previously unassessed periods of care which occurred during the time 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2012, the Department is aware that there are approximately 60,000 requests which have been received by primary care trusts.

Continuing Care

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost is of meeting historic claims for refunds for NHS Continuing Care in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Salford.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not routinely collect information on the costs of meeting historic requests for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding (NHS CHC).
	However, following the introduction on 15 March 2012, of deadlines for requests for assessments of eligibility for NHS CHC for previously unassessed periods of care which occurred during the time 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2012, primary care trusts are currently working to process the requests which have been received to date. We are working with strategic health authorities and the NHS Commissioning Board to understand the implications, but we will not have a full estimate of costs until that process is complete.

Continuing Care

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people in the UK with long-term conditions are of working age.

Norman Lamb: Based on 15.4 million people in England with a long term condition as defined in the General Household survey our best estimate is 9.5 million are of working age (between 16 and 65). This represents 63% of the total people who reported living with a long term condition.

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  who his Department's cycling champion is;
	(2)  what progress his Department has made on implementing the Cycle to Work guarantee;
	(3)  whether his Department has signed up to the Government's Cycle to Work scheme.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not have a cycling champion. However, it does promote all types of physical activity to staff, including cycling, as part of its health and well-being programme and the Civil Service Physical Activity Challenge.
	We have worked with our staff cycling groups to implement the Cycle to Work Guarantee. In all departmental buildings there are:
	secure, safe and accessible bike parking facilities; and
	good quality changing and locker facilities for all staff that require them.
	The Department has signed up to the Cycle to Work scheme since 2009. In addition, the Department has signed up to the Public Health Responsibility Deal pledge to promote and support active travel (both walking and cycling).
	The Department promotes all forms of physical activity to the wider public, including cycling, for example through Change4Life.

Dental Services: Foreign Nationals

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-UK nationals are registered with NHS dental practices in (a) Crawley constituency, (b) England and (c) the UK.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not collect this information. Under the existing dental contract, patients do not register to receive NHS dental care.

Dietary Supplements: EU Law

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends to bring forward legislative proposals for the setting of maximum permitted levels for nutrients under the provisions of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive.

Anna Soubry: There are no current plans to bring forward legislative proposals for the setting of maximum permitted levels for nutrients under the provisions of article 5 of the food supplements directive.

Drinking Water: Fluoride

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to increase the use of fluoride in tap water;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential health risks associated with fluoridating tap water.

Anna Soubry: The Department of Health leads on policy on the fluoridation of drinking water. In our view, fluoridation offers the best option for reducing inequalities in oral health, but it has been the policy of successive Governments that decisions on fluoridation should be taken locally. We do not wish to impose fluoridation centrally but, through the Health and Social Care Act 2012, we have made arrangements for public consultations and decision on fluoridation to be undertaken by local authorities with effect from April 2013. There have been water fluoridation schemes in operation in England for over 40 years, even longer in the United States of America, and the only risk to health that has been identified is dental fluorosis, a white flecking of the teeth, which is seldom found to be aesthetically unacceptable. However, we are not complacent and, in addition to monitoring relevant research, the Department is to publish reports on selected indicators of the health of the population of fluoridated areas.

Fractures

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets his Department has set for outcomes from surgery for pelvic hip fractures; and what the outcomes in the NHS were in the latest period for which figures are available.

Anna Soubry: No targets have been set for outcomes from this injury but the Government has taken steps to support improvement and will be passing responsibility for current arrangements through to the NHS Commissioning Board in April.
	The Department commissioned the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to publish a Quality Standard which describes what clinicians have agreed is good practice. The Department has also encouraged clinical participation in the National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD), which forms part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP) managed by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership. Participation in NCAPOP audits is a condition of the NHS standard contract.
	The NHFD collects data on the incidence of and therapeutic interventions provided in response to these injuries. This data from the NHFD is used to support the payment of a best practice tariff that gives a premium payment by result to national health service providers who treat patients in a manner consistent with the NICE Quality Standard.

Health Services: Young People

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to implement the recommendations of the Children and Young People's Health Outcomes Forum; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The Children and Young People's Health Outcomes Forum made recommendations aimed at a wide range of health and wider system organisations. ‘Improving Children and Young People's Health Outcomes: a system wide response’ was published on 19 February detailing the action already taken, in progress and planned in response to the forum's recommendations. The forum's report has directly influenced major developments which are key to shaping the focus and priorities for the new health and care system. The first Mandate between the Secretary of State for Health and the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB), set out our ambition to help give children the best start in life and promote their mental and physical health and resilience as they grow up. The Mandate includes specific expectations for children and young people and will ensure the NHS CB gives appropriate priority to meeting their needs.
	At the same time we launched the ‘Better health outcomes for children and young people Pledge’. The pledge recognises that international comparisons and worrying long-term trends demonstrate there is room for improvement, with poor health outcomes for too many children and young people compared with other countries. The variation in outcomes and quality of healthcare for children and young people is unacceptable. Those signing the pledge commit to improving the health outcomes of our children and young people so that they become among the best in the world. The following organisations have signed the pledge:
	Academy of Royal Colleges
	Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS)
	Care Quality Commission
	Faculty of Public Health
	Healthwatch
	Health Education England
	Local Government Association
	Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA)
	NHS Commissioning Board
	NHS Confederation
	NHS Information Centre
	NHS Trust Development Authority
	National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
	Public Health England
	Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP)
	Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
	Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)
	Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych)
	Society of Local Government Chief Executives (SOLACE).
	Both the system-wide response and pledge are available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/health/2013/02/national-pledge-cyp/
	At national level a new Children and Young People's Health Outcomes Board, led by the Chief Medical Officer, will bring together key system leaders in child health to provide a sustained focus on improving outcomes across the child health system.
	A new Children and Young People's Health Outcomes Forum, which met for the first time on 13 February, will provide ongoing expertise in child health and offer constructive challenge to the next phase of this work. The forum will hold an annual summit involving the Chief Medical Officer to monitor progress on child health outcomes and make recommendations for their improvement.

Hospitals: Admissions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency readmissions to hospital within 28 days of discharge of adults aged over 65 years there were in (a) each region of England and (b) England in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and what the indirectly (A) age-standardised, (B) sex-standardised, (C) method of admission of discharge spell-standardised, (D) diagnosis-standardised and (E) procedure-standardised proportion was for such readmissions in each such region in each such year.

Anna Soubry: Information is not available in the precise form requested. Information on the number of emergency readmissions and on the standardised readmissions rate for adults aged over 75 years for the English regions and for England is given for the two most recent available years in the following table. Information for earlier years can be found on the website of the Health and Social Care Information Centre on their indicators portal at:
	https://indicators.ic.nhs.uk/webview/
	
		
			 Emergency readmissions to hospital within 28 days of discharge from hospital: adults of aged 75 years and over, England and regions, financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			  2010-11 2009-10 
			 Region Number of readmissions Standardised readmission rate Number of readmissions Standardised readmission rate 
			 England 201,571 15.30 187,891 14.80 
			      
			 North East 12,352 15.80 11,490 15.39 
			 North West 30,621 16.00 28,767 15.55 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 22,785 15.79 20,517 15.01 
			 East Midlands 16,836 14.94 15,698 14.57 
			 West Midlands 20,980 15.49 19,658 14.93 
			 East of England 19,866 14.24 18,928 13.99 
			 London 28,182 17.71 25,014 16.61 
			 South East 30,917 14.68 29,419 14.42 
			 South West 17,860 13.08 17,499 13.02 
			 Notes: 1. 'All readmissions' includes all finished and unfinished continuous in-patient (CIP) spells that are emergency admissions within 0-27 days (inclusive) of the last, previous discharge from hospital, including those where the patient dies, but excluding the following: those with a main specialty upon readmission coded under obstetric or mental health specialties; and those where the readmitting spell has a diagnosis of cancer (other than benign or in situ) or chemotherapy for cancer coded anywhere in the spell. The readmissions rate is indirectly standardised by age, sex, method of admission, diagnosis, and procedure. 2. No attempt has been made to assess whether the readmission was linked to the discharge in terms of diagnosis or whether it was avoidable. 3. The data presented are a count of readmissions and not of individual patients, as a patient may be readmitted more than once in a financial year.

Learning Disability

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition his Department uses for profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Norman Lamb: The Department uses the following definition for adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities:
	Adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities have a profound learning disability and have more than one disability and have great difficulty communicating and need high levels of support with most aspects of daily life and may have additional sensory or physical disabilities, complex health needs or mental health difficulties and may have behaviours that challenge.
	This definition is taken from “Raising our Sights: Services for adults with profound and intellectual and multiple disabilities” (2010), a report the Department commissioned from Professor Jim Mansell. A copy has already been placed in the Library.

Maternity Services

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much was spent on NHS maternity services in England as a whole in each of the last two years for which figures are available; and what proportion of total NHS spending that represented;
	(2)  how much was spent on NHS maternity services in each region of England in each of the last two years for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: The following table shows the amount spent by primary care trusts on maternity services in 2011-12 and 2010-11 and the proportion of total national health service spending that represents.
	
		
			  Purchase of secondary healthcare: maternity 
			 Region 2010-11 2011-12 
			 England (£000) 2,532,350 2,620,977 
			 Percentage of total NHS Spending 2.6 2.6 
			 Source: Department of Health Annual Report and Accounts 
		
	
	The following table shows how much was spent on NHS maternity service in each region for 2011-12 and 2010-11.
	
		
			 £000 
			  Purchase of secondary healthcare: maternity 
			 Region 2010-11 2011-12 
			 East Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA) 206,929 210,298 
			 East of England SHA 265,409 279,289 
			 London SHA 479,526 525,838 
			 North East SHA 114,257 107,848 
			 North West SHA 346,241 345,079 
			 South Central SHA 179,337 186,450 
			 South East Coast SHA 167,141 183,262 
			 South West SHA 233,049 234,665 
			 West Midlands SHA 277,764 271,736 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 262,697 276,512 
			 Source: Department of Health Annual Report and Accounts

Medical Treatments

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the NHS spent on medicines in primary care in 2011-12.

Norman Lamb: Expenditure on medicines in primary care in England, in 2011-12, was £8,251 million. This information is contained in table 6.2, on page 142 of the Department's annual report and accounts, 2011-12 (HC66). A copy is available in the Library and on the Department's website at:
	www.wp.dh.gov.uk/publications/files/2012/10/23735_HC-66-DoH.pdf

Mental Health Services

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the net change in real-term expenditure on adult mental health services in England was between 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Norman Lamb: The 2011-12 National Survey of Investment in Adult Mental Health Services (2012) reports that cash investment in mental health services has risen between 2010-11 and 2011-12 but real term investment has not kept pace with inflation and fell by 1%.
	Notes:
	1. The survey was commissioned annually by the Department of Health from Mental Health Strategies and published on the Department of Health website.
	2. The survey report provides data on reported expenditure only.
	3. The survey is non-mandatory and includes some estimated data, ranging from 0.5% in NHS East Midlands to 54.1% in NHS West Midlands.
	4. Overall 13.8% of the reported investment set out in the survey report was estimated due to the non return of information.
	5. Data cover services provided for working age adults (age 18-64).
	Source:
	Mental Health Strategies (2012) National Survey of Investment in Adult Mental Health Services Report 2011-12.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of the Francis Report into care provided by Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, published in January 2013 on his Department's programme of NHS reorganisation.

Daniel Poulter: The public inquiry undertaken by Robert Francis QC, into the commissioning, regulatory and supervisory failings at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, was published 6 February 2013.
	The report's overarching conclusion is that ‘a fundamental culture change is needed’ to put patients first, ‘which can largely be implemented within the system that has now been created by the new reforms’.
	We are studying the detail of the report and will respond next month.

NHS: Pay

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) clinical, (b) managerial and (c) clerical NHS staff in Buckinghamshire were paid more than (i) £50,000, (ii) £65,738 and (iii) £100,000 in the last year for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: The numbers of (a) clinical, (b) managerial and (c) clerical NHS staff in Buckinghamshire Primary Care Trust and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust paid more than (i) £50,000, (ii) £65,738 and (iii) £100,000 in 2011-12 are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Salary Clinical Managerial Clerical All staff 
			 More than £50,000 385 71 4 460 
			 Of which:     
			 More than £65,738 261 41 0 302 
			 More than £100,000 130 9 0 139 
		
	
	These estimates are inclusive, ie staff counted as being paid more than £100,000 are also counted as being paid more than £65,738 and £50,000.
	These estimates are based on unvalidated data as recorded in the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse.
	Information provided by the ESR Data Warehouse is a monthly snapshot of the live ESR system. ESR is the Human Resources and Payroll system used by most NHS employers. Retrospective changes made locally to the ESR live system may mean that figures drawn from the ESR Data Warehouse may differ from those based on an earlier snapshot.
	Organisations which do not use ESR include social enterprises and local authorities that employ staff following a transfer from the NHS and general practices.
	The data have not been annualised. They include only those payments related to earnings as the ESR Data Warehouse does not record payments relating to expenses.

Nurses: Training

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many funded places for student nurses there were at the (a) university of Southampton and (b) university of Portsmouth in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.
	NHS South of England has advised that information is collected relating to pre-registration funded places and does not include specialist nursing programmes such as health visiting. Information for the university of Southampton is shown in the following table. The university of Portsmouth has not provided nursing programmes since late 1990.
	
		
			 Nursing commissions at the university of Southampton 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Adult 419 419 398 336 316 
			 Mental health nursing 71 71 71 71 71 
			 Child 74 74 74 74 74 
			 Learning disabilities 15 12 11 — — 
			 Totals 579 576 554 481 461 
			 Note: National Health Service South (Central) commission and fund nursing places at different education providers to cover the needs of the NHS organisations located in Hampshire and Isle of Wight. For instance, the learning disability nursing commissions, in the table above, were consolidated into one single provider from 2011-12. Therefore, the provision is still there, but the provider is different. Source: NHS South of England

Nurses: Training

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many funded places for student nurses there were in Hull in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not collected centrally. The hon. Member may wish to approach the chief executive of NHS North of England, which may hold some relevant information.

Occupational Health

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the wellness@work programme; and what assistance it has provided to the programme.

Anna Soubry: Dame Carol Black, the then National Director for Health and Work and a departmental official, visited East Berkshire wellness@work project in January 2008. This project was an initiative of Berkshire East Primary Care Trust and MARS, the confectionery company, to raise the profile of health and work among local employers.

Palliative Care

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has assessed the capacity of community nursing in respect of the delivery of choice of end-of-life care at home.

Norman Lamb: The Department has not made any assessment of community nursing capacity in respect of end-of-life care at home. However, increasing choice in the delivery of end-of-life care is a key aim of the Department's End of Life Care Strategy. Macmillan Cancer Support has done important work in assessing the availability of 24/7 community nursing as an essential part of existing choice in end of life care.

Palliative Care

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that all clinical commissioning groups should have an outcome indicator which will aid the measurement of patient choice in end-of-life care.

Norman Lamb: The clinical commissioning group outcomes indicator set is a matter for the NHS Commissioning Board.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for advising the NHS Commissioning Board on potential indicators. NICE makes recommendations based on the best evidence available.
	NICE is currently consulting on two potential indicators which they may recommend for inclusion in 2014-15 for End of Life Care, concerning preferred place of death, and satisfactory patient experience against a number of criteria. The consultation ends on 1 March 2013.

Palliative Care

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made towards achieving the Government's commitment that every person should be able to choose where they die;

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with regard to paragraph 2.37 of Liberating the NHS: Greater choice and control, when he plans to put in place a review of a national choice offer and support for those who choose to die at home.

Norman Lamb: The Government believes that, where possible; people should be given the opportunity to die in a place of their choice. We have therefore committed to moving towards a national choice offer to support people's preferences to be cared for and to die at home; or in a care home. During 2013, we plan to evaluate the progress that has been made in implementing the end of life care strategy. The evaluation will inform us of when it might be feasible to introduce such a choice offer.

Postnatal Care

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has plans to (a) review and (b) enhance NHS postnatal care.

Daniel Poulter: It is for the national health service to review the provision of postnatal care locally and enhance services where appropriate. To assist, the Department has asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to develop a quality standard for postnatal care. It is anticipated that this quality standard will be published in July 2013.
	We have made improving women and their families' experience of maternity services an area of improvement for the NHS. It is the Government's intention that every woman will be able to give feedback on the quality of the maternity care they receive through the Friends and Family Test starting from October 2013. In addition, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will conduct a survey of women's experience of maternity services, including postnatal care, this year. Providers and commissioners of maternity services will wish to use the results from the Friends and Family Test and the CQC survey to identify areas where further action is needed to improve services.

Pharmacy: Crime

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 91W, on pharmacy: crime, what factors he will consider when deciding whether to accelerate the implementation of agreed changes to section 64 of the Medicines Act 1968 in order to decriminalise dispensing errors made by pharmacists.

Norman Lamb: A programme board is now being established, for the work led by the UK chief pharmaceutical officers, which will consider the respective roles of medicines legislation and statutory independent professional regulation in safeguarding the public in relation to the sale and supply of medicines by pharmacies, with a view to placing increased reliance on the latter. A key task of the board will be to identify factors for consideration in the decision on whether to accelerate the changes agreed to section 64 of the Medicines Act 1968. The work is closely linked to the review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency of the sanctions and penalties for which the agency is responsible.

Public Appointments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people he appointed to public bodies in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; (i) how many and (ii) what proportion of those appointees were (A) black or from an ethnic minority, (B) Hindu, (C) Muslim and (D) Chinese in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The following table shows how many people were appointed to the Department's national public bodies in the period 2010-11 and 2011-12:
	
		
			  Appointments Reappointments 
			 Number of appointments and reappointments made to public bodies in:   
			 2010-11 50 73 
			 2011-12 65 101 
		
	
	The Commissioner for Public Appointments collates and publishes information on the number of appointments of candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds; however, the Commissioner does not collect information on candidates' race or religion.
	Copies of the 2010-11 and 2011012 annual reports are available at:
	http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk
	Copies are available in the Library.

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will authorise an evaluation study or a pilot study of screening for severe combined immunodeficiency.

Daniel Poulter: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the national health service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, it assesses the evidence for programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria.
	The UK NSC is currently considering the available evidence for newborn screening for severe combined immunodeficiency against its criteria. A public consultation on the screening review has just closed and Ministers expect to receive a recommendation from the UK NSC shortly. Ministers await these recommendations before deciding on the appropriate next steps.

Sick Leave

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many days of paid sickness leave per individual member of staff are authorised in his Department on an annual basis;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to reduce sickness absence in his Department.

Daniel Poulter: During the period 1 October-2011 to 30 September 2012 a total of 9,483 sick days were authorised in the Department, which equates to 4.2 annual working days lost per member of staff. The Department has one of the lowest rates across Whitehall for the number of working days lost.
	The Department's Human Resources team has procedures in place to manage and support sickness absence. For example, sickness triggers alert managers and staff that a particular period or pattern of absence needs to be reviewed. Managers will have an opportunity to discuss with staff the support options the Department can offer to address health issues and/or assist a return to work following a period of absence. This may be access to occupational health services, counselling services, flexible working arrangements or assistive technologies and resources.
	In addition the Department has a health and well being programme that aims to promote, support and encourage health and well being for staff through a programme of regular activities, information and events on a range of issues each year.

Tinnitus

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of noise from wind-turbines on people with tinnitus.

Norman Lamb: We have made no such assessment.
	The Government's view is that for wind farms built in accordance with the Government guidance—The Assessment and Rating of Noise from Wind Farms (ETSU-R-97)—the noise exposure at nearby dwellings will be well below those at which, for the large majority of people, any adverse effects regarding noise induced tinnitus start to occur. This accords with the view expressed by the World Health Organization in its report—Burden of disease from environmental noise: Quantification of healthy life years lost in Europe—published in 2011.

Yorkshire and the Humber

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff of his Department are employed in (a) Hull and (b) East Yorkshire.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not employ any civil servants in Hull or East Yorkshire.

Young Offenders

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many male offenders in the secure youth estate had a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) when screened on arrival; and how many such offenders (a) reported their first TBI before their first offence, (b) had previously been in prison on (i) between one and three, (ii) between three and five and (iii) five or more occasions, (c) had experienced more than one TBI and (d) had experienced five or more TBIs;
	(2)  how many female offenders in the secure youth estate had a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) when screened on arrival; and how many such offenders (a) reported their first TBI before their first offence, (b) had previously been in prison on (i) between one and three, (ii) between three and five and (iii) five or more occasions, (c) had experienced more than one TBI and (d) had experienced five or more TBIs;
	(3)  how many male offenders in the secure youth estate have had a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) when screened on arrival since May 2010; how many such offenders suffered a further TBI whilst held in the secure youth estate; and how many male offenders who had no history of TBI suffered TBI whilst held in the secure estate;
	(4)  how many female offenders in the secure youth estate have had a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) when screened on arrival since May 2010; how many such offenders suffered a further TBI whilst held in the secure youth estate; and how many female offenders who had no history of TBI suffered TBI whilst held in the secure estate.

Norman Lamb: Individuals held in secure settings are not currently screened routinely for acquired brain injury, including traumatic brain injury. This information is thus not collected centrally or by local national health service organisations.

JUSTICE

Reoffenders

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offences were committed by offenders after release at (a) three, (b) six, (c) nine and (d) 12 months in each probation trust area in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the number of proven re-offences committed within three, six, nine and 12 months after release from custody, for adult offenders in each of the years 2008 to 2010 (the latest calendar year available), by probation trust area.
	The probation trust area is based on where an offender resides before starting their sentence and does not mean that the offender was under the supervision of the probation trust in that area at the time of the re-offence (for example, not all offenders are supervised by probation for 12 months following release from custody).
	A proven re-offence is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one-year follow-up. Following this one-year period, a further six-month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.
	
		
			 Cumulative number of proven re-offences committed within 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of release from custody, adult offenders, 2008 to 2010, by probation trust area 
			  Number of re-offences (cumulative) 
			  2008 
			 Probation trust area 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,242 2,293 3,402 4,236 
			 Bedfordshire 450 736 1,029 1,285 
		
	
	
		
			 Cambridgeshire 577 1,059 1,538 1,956 
			 Cheshire 750 1,377 1,955 2,373 
			 Cumbria 415 752 1,054 1,292 
			 Derbyshire 645 1,235 1,758 2,165 
			 Devon and Cornwall 891 1,678 2,321 2,820 
			 Dorset 369 724 1,043 1,306 
			 Durham Tees Valley 1,364 2,624 3,697 4,687 
			 Essex 994 1,790 2,500 3,151 
			 Gloucestershire 344 643 946 1,154 
			 Greater Manchester 2,839 5,353 7,617 9,324 
			 Hampshire 1,168 2,283 3,164 3,927 
			 Hertfordshire 451 800 1,088 1,346 
			 Humberside 947 1,681 2,364 2,938 
			 Kent 947 1,749 2,450 3,028 
			 Lancashire 1,135 2,132 3,065 3,868 
			 Leicestershire 576 1,113 1,617 2,000 
			 Lincolnshire 283 601 835 1,021 
			 London 5,892 11,118 15,737 19,533 
			 Merseyside 1,516 2,831 4,085 5,076 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 994 1,812 2,610 3,192 
			 North Yorkshire 401 788 1,158 1,460 
			 Northamptonshire 371 783 1,112 1,413 
			 Northumbria 1,360 2,543 3,647 4,504 
			 Nottinghamshire 966 1,901 2,667 3,252 
			 South Yorkshire 1,276 2,376 3,325 4,265 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 3,540 7,070 9,867 12,365 
			 Surrey and Sussex 1,328 2,358 3,358 4,149 
			 Thames Valley 1,177 2,172 3,060 3,814 
			 Wales 2,376 4,698 6,707 8,447 
			 Warwickshire 261 494 719 894 
			 West Mercia 671 1,162 1,591 1,989 
			 West Yorkshire 1,827 3,420 4,890 6,098 
			 Wiltshire 260 463 599 755 
			 Unknown 2 7 8 12 
			 Total 40,605 76,619 108,583 135,095 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of re-offences (cumulative) 
			  2009 
			 Probation trust area 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,206 2,099 2,977 3,729 
			 Bedfordshire 382 757 1,020 1,280 
			 Cambridgeshire 555 1,092 1,549 1,939 
			 Cheshire 611 1,121 1,584 2,032 
			 Cumbria 383 667 943 1,185 
			 Derbyshire 576 1,057 1,475 1,887 
			 Devon and Cornwall 776 1,392 2,057 2,573 
			 Dorset 443 726 1,056 1,281 
			 Durham Tees Valley 1,255 2,308 3,200 4,063 
			 Essex 799 1,540 2,216 2,836 
			 Gloucestershire 307 526 725 886 
			 Greater Manchester 2,325 4,265 6,041 7,641 
			 Hampshire 1,118 2,110 2,970 3,720 
			 Hertfordshire 439 823 1,156 1,445 
			 Humberside 933 1,588 2,148 2,684 
		
	
	
		
			 Kent 829 1,542 2,160 2,713 
			 Lancashire 1,062 2,020 2,835 3,554 
			 Leicestershire 556 980 1,420 1,753 
			 Lincolnshire 302 559 829 1,051 
			 London 5,442 10,185 14,460 18,250 
			 Merseyside 1,337 2,520 3,649 4,561 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 907 1,651 2,329 2,967 
			 North Yorkshire 344 682 980 1,281 
			 Northamptonshire 399 749 1,078 1,323 
			 Northumbria 1,278 2,224 3,181 4,022 
			 Nottinghamshire 838 1,493 2,196 2,835 
			 South Yorkshire 1,073 2,029 2,848 3,548 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 2,838 5,398 7,718 9,780 
			 Surrey and Sussex 1,112 2,040 2,829 3,517 
			 Thames Valley 966 1,871 2,689 3,402 
			 Wales 2,521 4,675 6,695 8,442 
			 Warwickshire 218 458 649 807 
			 West Mercia 483 999 1,442 1,782 
			 West Yorkshire 1,502 2,773 4,000 4,932 
			 Wiltshire 197 357 499 601 
			 Unknown 2 3 5 5 
			 Total 36,314 67,279 95,608 120,307 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of re-offences (cumulative) 
			  2010 
			 Probation trust area 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months 
			 Avon and Somerset 967 1,874 2,684 3,365 
			 Bedfordshire 364 641 905 1,125 
			 Cambridgeshire 573 1,009 1,413 1,759 
			 Cheshire 518 975 1,423 1,793 
			 Cumbria 397 708 970 1,221 
			 Derbyshire 510 962 1,374 1,755 
			 Devon and Cornwall 743 1,341 1,929 2,420 
			 Dorset 353 642 870 1,135 
			 Durham Tees Valley 1,166 2,152 3,046 3,833 
			 Essex 814 1,520 2,157 2,771 
			 Gloucestershire 219 420 616 779 
			 Greater Manchester 2,114 3,758 5,152 6,621 
			 Hampshire 1,054 2,080 2,958 3,732 
			 Hertfordshire 389 799 1,057 1,329 
			 Humberside 861 1,495 2,080 2,660 
			 Kent 735 1,392 2,015 2,517 
			 Lancashire 1,072 1,938 2,711 3,384 
			 Leicestershire 450 758 1,142 1,475 
			 Lincolnshire 275 550 727 920 
			 London 5,101 9,593 13,607 16,996 
			 Merseyside 1,248 2,391 3,371 4,225 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 836 1,585 2,273 2,938 
			 North Yorkshire 393 727 1,079 1,402 
			 Northamptonshire 372 687 971 1,225 
			 Northumbria 1,031 1,940 2,812 3,511 
			 Nottinghamshire 826 1,644 2,302 2,918 
			 South Yorkshire 869 1,620 2,277 2,881 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 2,486 4,685 6,675 8,523 
			 Surrey and Sussex 1,085 1,936 2,686 3,308 
			 Thames Valley 905 1,696 2,453 3,098 
		
	
	
		
			 Wales 2,357 4,516 6,376 8,123 
			 Warwickshire 157 351 456 568 
			 West Mercia 506 919 1,264 1,605 
			 West Yorkshire 1,382 2,617 3,821 4,816 
			 Wiltshire 204 307 467 628 
			 Unknown 2 3 5 5 
			 Total 33,334 62,231 88,124 111,364

Human Trafficking

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Epping Forest of 5 February 2013, Official Report, columns 196-7W, on human trafficking, if he will hold discussions with the Minister who leads on human trafficking in Government and who chairs the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on recording the local authority areas in which victims are found.

Helen Grant: We must do all we can to track down perpetrators of this abhorrent crime and put them behind bars. As Victims' Minister and a member of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking I support the Government's objective to improve the collection of data and will participate fully in discussions on how we can further improve data collection to support the Government's efforts to combat this abhorrent crime.
	The Government has also committed £2 million a year to support adult victims of trafficking to recover from this sickening crime.

Personal Injury

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to publish an impact assessment of the potential effects on proposals to reduce the recoverable fixed fee in personal injury cases.

Helen Grant: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 28 January 2013, Official Report, columns 634-35W. That answer refers to a similar question tabled by the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Steve Rotheram) to which I responded, on 12 December 2012, Official Report, column 370W, in the following terms:
	“Prior to implementation of the extended Road Traffic Accident personal injury scheme, the Government will undertake an impact assessment of the potential effects on affected groups of introducing fixed recoverable costs in personal injury claims. This will be published on the Ministry of Justice website and a copy will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.”

Prisons: Drugs

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) drug caches including heroin, (b) needles used for drug-taking and (c) prisoners testing positive for heroin use were found in each prison in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Wright: The tables show the number of seizures of drugs in each prison across England and Wales for the period 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2012. It is important to note that this includes all drug related reports and takes into consideration all drug equipment finds as well as all drug types. It is not possible to disaggregate the information to identify drug seizures alone.
	Table A shows the number the number of seizures of Heroin in each prison across England and Wales for the period 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2012.
	Table B shows the number of needles found used for drug taking in each prison across England and Wales for the period 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2012
	Table C shows the number of positive tests for Opiates in each prison across England and Wales for the period 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2012. It is important to note that the number of tests does not equal to the number of prisoners tested positive as some prisoners may be tested more than once. NOMS Tests for Opiates abuse include Heroin within all Opiates. It is not possible to disaggregate the figure to identify Heroin alone.
	Tables A, B and C referred above have been placed in the House Library.
	All figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems on 13 February 2013 which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.

Reoffenders

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many recalls to prison of people originally convicted of (a) murder, (b) rape, (c) violence against a person, (d) burglary, (e) sexual offences against a minor, (f) theft and (g) criminal damage to property there were in each probation trust area in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11;
	(2)  what proportion of recalls to prison were for people originally convicted of (a) murder, (b) rape, (c) violence against a person, (d) burglary, (e) sexual offences against a minor, (f) theft and (g) criminal damage to property in each probation trust area in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11;
	(3)  how many offenders were recalled to jail in each category of offence in each probation trust area in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The data held centrally on offenders recalled to custody has only included offence details since July 2011. The following table shows the number of offenders recalled to custody, by probation trust and by offence in the 12 months from July 2011 to June 2012. The number of recalls in a given year should not be compared with the number of discharges in that year, because offenders will not necessarily be released and recalled in the same year.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Offenders recalled to custody between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012 by Probation Trust area and index offence 
			  Offence Number 
			 Avon and Somerset Murder 2 
			  Manslaughter 1 
			  Other and attempted homicide 1 
			  Wounding 34 
			  Assaults 18 
			  Other violence against the person 6 
			  Rape 6 
			  Gross indecency with children 3 
			  Other sexual offences 9 
			  Robbery 74 
			  Burglary 138 
			  Theft and handling 16 
			  Fraud and forgery 3 
			  Drug offences 75 
			  Motoring offences 6 
			  Other offences 33 
			    
			 Bedfordshire Manslaughter 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 1 
			  Wounding 19 
			  Assaults 1 
			  Other violence against the person 4 
			  Other sexual offences 5 
			  Robbery 31 
			  Burglary 74 
			  Theft and handling 12 
			  Fraud and forgery 1 
			  Drug offences 17 
			  Motoring offences 3 
			  Other offences 16 
			    
			 Cambridgeshire Murder 1 
			  Manslaughter 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 3 
			  Wounding 24 
			  Assaults 3 
			  Other violence against the person 9 
			  Rape 3 
			  Other sexual offences 8 
			  Robbery 22 
			  Burglary 61 
			  Theft and handling 10 
			  Fraud and forgery 4 
			  Drug offences 15 
			  Motoring offences 1 
			  Other offences 9 
			    
			 Cheshire Other and attempted homicide 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Wounding 33 
			  Assaults 7 
			  Other violence against the person 3 
			  Rape 4 
			  Other sexual offences 5 
			  Robbery 31 
			  Burglary 72 
			  Theft and handling 5 
			  Fraud and forgery 1 
			  Drug offences 21 
			  Motoring offences 3 
			  Other offences 17 
			    
			 Durham Tees Valley Murder 1 
			  Manslaughter 1 
			  Other and attempted homicide 2 
			  Wounding 82 
			  Assaults 9 
			  Other violence against the person 9 
			  Rape 5 
			  Gross indecency with children 3 
			  Other sexual offences 11 
			  Robbery 54 
			  Burglary 166 
			  Theft and handling 22 
			  Fraud and forgery 4 
			  Drug offences 53 
			  Motoring offences 4 
			  Other offences 37 
			    
			 Cumbria Wounding 17 
			  Assaults 4 
			  Other violence against the person 3 
			  Rape 1 
			  Other sexual offences 4 
			  Robbery 18 
			  Burglary 34 
			  Theft and handling 4 
			  Drug offences 29 
			  Motoring offences 1 
			  Other offences 14 
			    
			 Derbyshire Murder 3 
			  Manslaughter 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 5 
			  Wounding 53 
			  Assaults 5 
			  Other violence against the person 11 
		
	
	
		
			  Rape 4 
			  Gross indecency with children 2 
			  Other sexual offences 13 
			  Robbery 43 
			  Burglary 77 
			  Theft and handling 23 
			  Fraud and forgery 2 
			  Drug offences 30 
			  Motoring offences 2 
			  Other offences 26 
			    
			 Devon and Cornwall Murder 3 
			  Manslaughter 4 
			  Other and attempted homicide 3 
			  Wounding 50 
			  Assaults 11 
			  Other violence against the person 9 
			  Rape 3 
			  Gross indecency with children 2 
			  Other sexual offences 15 
			  Robbery 42 
			  Burglary 97 
			  Theft and handling 18 
			  Fraud and forgery 3 
			  Drug offences 47 
			  Motoring offences 4 
			  Other offences 32 
			    
			 Dorset Murder 2 
			  Manslaughter 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 1 
			  Wounding 26 
			  Assaults 7 
			  Other violence against the person 4 
			  Rape 5 
			  Gross indecency with children 1 
			  Other sexual offences 7 
			  Robbery 22 
			  Burglary 54 
			  Theft and handling 4 
			  Fraud and forgery 1 
			  Drug offences 28 
			  Other offences 15 
			    
			 Essex Murder 5 
			  Manslaughter 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 3 
			  Wounding 43 
		
	
	
		
			  Assaults 3 
			  Other violence against the person 8 
			  Rape 2 
			  Gross indecency with children 1 
			  Other sexual offences 9 
			  Robbery 57 
			  Burglary 68 
			  Theft and handling 16 
			  Fraud and forgery 4 
			  Drug offences 28 
			  Motoring offences 8 
			  Other offences 22 
			    
			 Gloucestershire Murder 2 
			  Manslaughter 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 1 
			  Wounding 17 
			  Assaults 7 
			  Other violence against the person 5 
			  Rape 1 
			  Gross indecency with children 2 
			  Other sexual offences 6 
			  Robbery 19 
			  Burglary 49 
			  Theft and handling 16 
			  Fraud and forgery 1 
			  Drug offences 18 
			  Motoring offences 1 
			  Other offences 13 
			    
			 Greater Manchester Murder 2 
			  Manslaughter 8 
			  Other and attempted homicide 12 
			  Wounding 137 
			  Assaults 28 
			  Other violence against the person 41 
			  Rape 9 
			  Gross indecency with children 5 
			  Other sexual offences 27 
			  Robbery 254 
			  Burglary 378 
			  Theft and handling 53 
			  Fraud and forgery 7 
			  Drug offences 119 
			  Motoring offences 13 
			  Other offences 98 
			    
			 Hampshire Manslaughter 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Other and attempted homicide 5 
			  Wounding 51 
			  Assaults 10 
			  Other violence against the person 13 
			  Rape 8 
			  Gross indecency with children 2 
			  Other sexual offences 10 
			  Robbery 48 
			  Burglary 102 
			  Theft and handling 35 
			  Fraud and forgery 5 
			  Drug offences 44 
			  Motoring offences 4 
			  Other offences 35 
			    
			 Hertfordshire Other and attempted homicide 3 
			  Wounding 24 
			  Assaults 2 
			  Other violence against the person 5 
			  Rape 3 
			  Gross indecency with children 2 
			  Other sexual offences 1 
			  Robbery 17 
			  Burglary 46 
			  Theft and handling 7 
			  Fraud and forgery 2 
			  Drug offences 20 
			  Motoring offences 3 
			  Other offences 16 
			    
			 Humberside Manslaughter 2 
			  Wounding 41 
			  Assaults 10 
			  Other violence against the person 13 
			  Rape 5 
			  Gross indecency with children 4 
			  Other sexual offences 7 
			  Robbery 40 
			  Burglary 132 
			  Theft and handling 33 
			  Fraud and forgery 1 
			  Drug offences 18 
			  Motoring offences 6 
			  Other offences 45 
			    
			 Kent Murder 6 
			  Manslaughter 1 
			  Wounding 48 
		
	
	
		
			  Assaults 5 
			  Other violence against the person 10 
			  Rape 6 
			  Gross indecency with children 2 
			  Other sexual offences 15 
			  Robbery 47 
			  Burglary 116 
			  Theft and handling 16 
			  Fraud and forgery 2 
			  Drug offences 64 
			  Motoring offences 7 
			  Other offences 27 
			    
			 Lancashire Murder 6 
			  Manslaughter 3 
			  Other and attempted homicide 6 
			  Wounding 86 
			  Assaults 14 
			  Other violence against the person 9 
			  Rape 8 
			  Gross indecency with children 2 
			  Other sexual offences 36 
			  Robbery 84 
			  Burglary 174 
			  Theft and handling 21 
			  Fraud and forgery 6 
			  Drug offences 53 
			  Motoring offences 3 
			  Other offences 55 
			    
			 Leicestershire Murder 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 5 
			  Wounding 38 
			  Assaults 4 
			  Other violence against the person 7 
			  Rape 1 
			  Gross indecency with children 1 
			  Other sexual offences 6 
			  Robbery 35 
			  Burglary 96 
			  Theft and handling 13 
			  Fraud and forgery 5 
			  Drug offences 28 
			  Motoring offences 4 
			  Other offences 27 
			    
			 Lincolnshire Murder 1 
			  Manslaughter 4 
		
	
	
		
			  Other and attempted homicide 2 
			  Wounding 24 
			  Assaults 7 
			  Other violence against the person 4 
			  Rape 2 
			  Other sexual offences 6 
			  Robbery 12 
			  Burglary 51 
			  Theft and handling 4 
			  Drug offences 14 
			  Motoring offences 2 
			  Other offences 11 
			    
			 London Murder 17 
			  Manslaughter 11 
			  Other and attempted homicide 21 
			  Wounding 224 
			  Assaults 39 
			  Other violence against the person 105 
			  Rape 27 
			  Gross indecency with children 3 
			  Other sexual offences 59 
			  Robbery 540 
			  Burglary 734 
			  Theft and handling 205 
			  Fraud and forgery 72 
			  Drug offences 407 
			  Motoring offences 30 
			  Other offences 214 
			    
			 Merseyside Murder 3 
			  Manslaughter 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 4 
			  Wounding 65 
			  Assaults 13 
			  Other violence against the person 19 
			  Rape 7 
			  Gross indecency with children 1 
			  Other sexual offences 12 
			  Robbery 74 
			  Burglary 138 
			  Theft and handling 25 
			  Fraud and forgery 5 
			  Drug offences 80 
			  Motoring offences 6 
			  Other offences 52 
			    
			 Norfolk and Suffolk Murder 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Manslaughter 1 
			  Other and attempted homicide 4 
			  Wounding 40 
			  Assaults 4 
			  Other violence against the person 5 
			  Rape 4 
			  Gross indecency with children 3 
			  Other sexual offences 15 
			  Robbery 40 
			  Burglary 67 
			  Theft and handling 22 
			  Fraud and forgery 4 
			  Drug offences 41 
			  Motoring offences 5 
			  Other offences 25 
			    
			 North Yorkshire Murder 2 
			  Manslaughter 1 
			  Other and attempted homicide 2 
			  Wounding 29 
			  Assaults 2 
			  Other violence against the person 4 
			  Rape 3 
			  Other sexual offences 4 
			  Robbery 14 
			  Burglary 26 
			  Theft and handling 11 
			  Fraud and forgery 4 
			  Drug offences 3 
			  Motoring offences 1 
			  Other offences 11 
			    
			 Northampton- shire Murder 1 
			  Manslaughter 1 
			  Other and attempted homicide 1 
			  Wounding 30 
			  Assaults 5 
			  Other violence against the person 4 
			  Rape 3 
			  Gross indecency with children 1 
			  Other sexual offences 5 
			  Robbery 35 
			  Burglary 64 
			  Theft and handling 14 
			  Fraud and forgery 5 
			  Drug offences 15 
			  Motoring offences 6 
		
	
	
		
			  Other offences 16 
			    
			 Northumbria Murder 1 
			  Manslaughter 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 1 
			  Wounding 90 
			  Assaults 8 
			  Other violence against the person 12 
			  Rape 3 
			  Gross indecency with children 1 
			  Other sexual offences 16 
			  Robbery 83 
			  Burglary 158 
			  Theft and handling 22 
			  Fraud and forgery 3 
			  Drug offences 18 
			  Motoring offences 6 
			  Other offences 37 
			    
			 Nottinghamshire Murder 2 
			  Manslaughter 1 
			  Other and attempted homicide 3 
			  Wounding 70 
			  Assaults 10 
			  Other violence against the person 6 
			  Rape 7 
			  Gross indecency with children 1 
			  Other sexual offences 13 
			  Robbery 79 
			  Burglary 184 
			  Theft and handling 16 
			  Fraud and forgery 1 
			  Drug offences 70 
			  Motoring offences 13 
			  Other offences 25 
			    
			 South Yorkshire Murder 2 
			  Manslaughter 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 3 
			  Wounding 79 
			  Assaults 20 
			  Other violence against the person 19 
			  Rape 4 
			  Other sexual offences 14 
			  Robbery 75 
			  Burglary 186 
			  Theft and handling 59 
			  Fraud and forgery 8 
		
	
	
		
			  Drug offences 44 
			  Motoring offences 16 
			  Other offences 36 
			    
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands Manslaughter 10 
			  Other and attempted homicide 9 
			  Wounding 162 
			  Assaults 39 
			  Other violence against the person 32 
			  Rape 19 
			  Gross indecency with children 14 
			  Other sexual offences 29 
			  Robbery 269 
			  Burglary 486 
			  Theft and handling 110 
			  Fraud and forgery 14 
			  Drug offences 139 
			  Motoring offences 22 
			  Other offences 124 
			    
			 Surrey and Sussex Murder 2 
			  Manslaughter 3 
			  Other and attempted homicide 7 
			  Wounding 60 
			  Assaults 14 
			  Other violence against the person 11 
			  Rape 5 
			  Gross indecency with children 4 
			  Other sexual offences 20 
			  Robbery 70 
			  Burglary 119 
			  Theft and handling 23 
			  Fraud and forgery 11 
			  Drug offences 85 
			  Motoring offences 2 
			  Other offences 43 
			    
			 Thames Valley Murder 2 
			  Manslaughter 1 
			  Other and attempted homicide 2 
			  Wounding 44 
			  Assaults 10 
			  Other violence against the person 11 
			  Rape 5 
			  Other sexual offences 13 
			  Robbery 100 
		
	
	
		
			  Burglary 156 
			  Theft and handling 29 
			  Fraud and forgery 9 
			  Drug offences 30 
			  Motoring offences 8 
			  Other offences 29 
			    
			 Wales Murder 5 
			  Manslaughter 6 
			  Other and attempted homicide 6 
			  Wounding 181 
			  Assaults 19 
			  Other violence against the person 34 
			  Rape 14 
			  Gross indecency with children 7 
			  Other sexual offences 27 
			  Robbery 117 
			  Burglary 405 
			  Theft and handling 49 
			  Fraud and forgery 12 
			  Drug offences 164 
			  Motoring offences 16 
			  Other offences 108 
			    
			 Warwickshire Other and attempted homicide 2 
			  Wounding 14 
			  Assaults 1 
			  Other violence against the person 5 
			  Rape 3 
			  Gross indecency with children 1 
			  Other sexual offences 2 
			  Robbery 15 
			  Burglary 42 
			  Theft and handling 4 
			  Fraud and forgery 3 
			  Drug offences 10 
			  Motoring offences 2 
			  Other offences 11 
			    
			 West Mercia Murder 1 
			  Wounding 34 
			  Assaults 3 
			  Other violence against the person 5 
			  Rape 2 
			  Gross indecency with children 4 
			  Other sexual offences 10 
			  Robbery 24 
			  Burglary 57 
		
	
	
		
			  Theft and handling 10 
			  Fraud and forgery 3 
			  Drug offences 14 
			  Motoring offences 4 
			  Other offences 16 
			    
			 West Yorkshire Murder 3 
			  Manslaughter 2 
			  Other and attempted homicide 10 
			  Wounding 116 
			  Assaults 20 
			  Other violence against the person 21 
			  Rape 12 
			  Gross indecency with children 3 
			  Other sexual offences 21 
			  Robbery 177 
			  Burglary 333 
			  Theft and handling 81 
			  Fraud and forgery 6 
			  Drug offences 103 
			  Motoring offences 18 
			  Other offences 83 
			    
			 Wiltshire Manslaughter 1 
			  Other and attempted homicide 1 
			  Wounding 18 
			  Assaults 3 
			  Other violence against the person 1 
			  Other sexual offences 2 
			  Robbery 24 
			  Burglary 29 
			  Theft and handling 10 
			  Drug offences 7 
			  Motoring offences 2 
			  Other offences 6 
			    
			 Grand total  16,607 
			 Data sources and quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Sexual Offences: Witnesses

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many witnesses have attempted suicide (a) during or (b) within one month of the completion of a trial in which they testified that they had been sexually assaulted.

Helen Grant: The information requested is not recorded by the Ministry of Justice.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff are based in each property used by his Department.

Damian Green: A copy of the number of staff based in each property used by the Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice Headquarters, National Offender Management Service, HM Courts and Tribunals Service and Office of the Public Guardian) as at 31 December 2012 will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
	While members of staff are based in one property, they may work flexibly across a number of buildings. The numbers do not necessarily reflect occupancy levels within buildings which may be increased as a result of sharing accommodation with staff from other Government Departments, agencies, local authorities and private contractors such as security personnel. Information on occupancy levels which include such personnel is not centrally held.

EDUCATION

Academies

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the Church of England is able to act as a sponsor of academies in the primary and secondary sector.

David Laws: Church of England Dioceses are able to act as sponsors of academies in the primary and secondary sectors. All potential sponsors are subject to an assessment of their capacity and capability before they are approved to sponsor academies. The assessment includes:
	The educational aims and objectives of the organisation;
	Their understanding of the role of an Academy sponsor as a leader and challenger, accountable for progressive and sustainable improvement;
	Evidence of their capacity and capability to deliver their aims and objectives, including any previous experience of working with an underperforming school/schools;
	Their track record of success in their sector.

Academies: Marketing

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 325W, on academies: marketing, if the conferences and seminars were organised by his Department or by an external organisation.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 14 February 2013
	Of the £92,018 spent on events to promote the Academies and Free Schools programmes between May 2010 and June 2012, £37,018 was spent on events organised by the Department and £55,000 was spent on events organised by external organisations.

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the (a) total floor space and (b) floor space measured in square metres per full-time equivalent post is of properties used by his Department.

Elizabeth Truss: The total floor area (including areas sub-let to other occupiers) of properties currently used by the Department for Education (DfE) and its Executive Agencies is 70,185m2. The area occupied by the Department's staff is 51,423m2. This equates to 13.78m2 for each full-time equivalent (FTE) post.
	The DfE Review, published in November 2012 sets out the Department's intention to consolidate its office estate from 12 buildings to six, which will improve the Sq M per FTE. Final decision on which buildings will close are expected in April 2013 and until this time we will not be able to confirm whether any properties will become vacant.

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the names and locations are of all properties used by officials of his Department; whether those properties are (a) owned by the Department, (b) leased by the Department and (c) subject to a private finance initiative agreement; when existing lease agreements relating to such properties are due to expire; and what the total floor space is of each property.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education currently occupies 12 properties which are listed in the following table.
	The Department for Education Review, published in November 2012 sets out the Department's intention to consolidate its office estate from 12 buildings to six. Final decision on which buildings will close are expected in April 2013 and until this time we will not be able to confirm whether any properties will become vacant.
	
		
			 Property Tenure Lease break/end Net internal area (m(2)) 
			 Sanctuary Buildings, Central London Leasehold 28 September 2017—DfE plan to vacate in 2017 21,098 
			 33 Greycoat Street, Central London Leasehold 16 October 2014—DfE plan to vacate in 2014 1,591 
			 Bridge House, Guildford Leasehold 2 July 2015—DfE plan to vacate in 2015 351 
			 Freshford House, Bristol Leasehold 11 July 2015—DfE plan to vacate in 2015 281 
			 Earlsdon Park, Coventry Leasehold Break 23 July 2024 End 23 July 2029 6,129 
			 Castleview House, Runcorn Freehold  9,478 
			 2 St Pauls Place, Sheffield Ground Lease/Virtual Freehold 29 September 2259 6,837 
			 Piccadilly Gate, Manchester Leasehold 27 June 2025 3,980 
			 National College for School Leadership, Lime House, Nottingham Leasehold 16 November 2013—DfE plan to vacate in 2013 1,486 
		
	
	
		
			 National College for School Leadership, Learning and Conference Centre, Nottingham Ground lease/virtual freehold 30 May 2101 8,445 
			 Trust Court, Histon Leasehold 3 October 2016 (unit 1) 1 January 2016 (units 2 and 3) 429 
			 Mowden Hall, Darlington Freehold  10,079

Bullying

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 56W, on bullying, which Ministers in his Department were informed of each of the 12 bullying cases.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 25 February 2013
	Ministers were not informed of any of the 12 bullying cases. All bullying cases are managed internally in accordance to the Department's grievance policy. Due to their personal and confidential nature, they are not reported at board or ministerial level.

Children: Day Care

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) child minders and (b) nursery staff are registered in England.

Elizabeth Truss: As of September 2012 there were 57,149 childminders and 27,852 child care providers on non-domestic premises (including day nurseries, private nursery schools, pre-schools and before and after school clubs) registered with Ofsted. This is as reported in Ofsted's ‘Registered Childcare Providers and Places’ Official Statistics Release, published on 25th October and covering the period 30 June 2012 to 30 September 2012, available at:
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/registered-childcare-providers-and-places-england-december-2008-onwards
	Nursery staff are not required to be individually registered with Ofsted.

Children's Centres

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many Sure Start children's centres closed in each of the last three years in (a) England and (b) Copeland constituency.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 25 February 2013
	Information supplied by local authorities on the Sure Start-On database shows that at 31 January 2013 there were 29 outright children's centre closures. The breakdown of closures by year since 2010 is as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Total number of children's centre closures in England 
			 2010-11 0 
			 2011-12 10 
			 2012-13 19 
		
	
	According to the local authority no children's centres have closed in Cumbria.

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  when he plans to respond to the letter sent to his Permanent Secretary from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham of 21 January 2013 regarding the investigation of defamatory remarks made against the hon. Member attributed to senior sources within his Department;
	(2)  what steps he has taken since 23 January 2013 to guard against breaches of the Civil Service Code regarding personal comments and briefings against individuals;
	(3)  if he will publish all internal communications to staff of his Department regarding breaches of the Civil Service Code following comments attributed to senior Department for Education sources on the Spectator Coffee House blog on 17 January 2013;
	(4)  what official statements have been issued by his Department about the hon. Member for Worthing and Shoreham regarding the personal and defamatory comments attributed to senior Department for Education sources in the Spectator blog on 17 January 2013;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the comment on the Spectator blog on 17 January 2013 attributed to senior Department for Education sources regarding the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 11 February 2013
	The Permanent Secretary wrote to the hon. Member on this matter on 13 February. A copy of this letter is as follows:
	Letter from Chris Wormald, dated 13 February 2013
	Thank you for your letter dated 22 January about comments reported on 17 January in the Spectator blog from a "senior Department for Education source."
	Firstly, I would like to reiterate what the Secretary of State and I said to the Select Committee on the 23 January - that it is wrong that this briefing took place, and that if it did come from an employee of the Department, that would be unacceptable. Secondly, I would reiterate the fact that the Secretary of State was very clear that he did not recognise the picture that the comments painted of you as a Minister, and indeed, that his experience of working with you was quite the opposite.
	Both the Secretary of State and I have considered this issue and made appropriate enquiries to ascertain whether the quotes came from the Department, and, if so, who might have been responsible. On the basis of those enquiries, we have not been able to identify an individual responsible, and have concluded that there is no realistic prospect of doing so. We will not be able to progress this matter further unless the Spectator is prepared to name its sources.

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on the acquisition of land on which to provide free schools in (a) London, (b) the South East, (c) Huddersfield and (d) England to date.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department publishes information on the acquisition costs for each free school once capital costs have been finalised.
	This information is available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/freeschools/b0066077/open-free-schools

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many forms for school entry were created by the opening of free schools in (a) September 2011 and (b) September 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: To date, 80 free schools have opened creating an estimated 34,000 additional pupil places when the schools are full. The term “form of entry” tends to be used for a class of 30 pupils; but not all free schools are being organised in this way, and so the information is not available in this form.

Lord Nash

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons Lord Nash is not yet shown on his Department's ministerial team webpage.

Elizabeth Truss: The biographical information has now been finalised and appears on the departmental website.

Ministers' Private Offices

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) televisions and (b) digital radios provided at public expense there are in his private office.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 12 February 2013
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has two televisions provided at public expense in his Private Office. This includes his office and the area for his Private Office team.
	These two televisions were purchased in 2008, as part of a refurbishment programme. No televisions or digital radios have since been purchased at public expense.

Pre-school Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what proportion of the households benefiting from 15 hours of free early education per week are in work;
	(2)  what proportion of the households benefiting from free pre-school education for two year olds are in work.

Elizabeth Truss: The offer of 15 hours of funded early education for three and four-year-olds is universal, not based on the work status of the family. As such the Department does not collect this information. Figures show that current take-up stands at 96%.
	From September 2013, 130,000 two-year-olds from lower income families will be able to access 15 hours of funded early education a week. Children will be eligible if their family meet the criteria currently used for free school meals or if they are looked after. We therefore expect the majority of households who benefit from September 2013 will be non-working.
	From September 2014 this will be extended to reach 260,000 two-year-olds. The Department consulted on eligibility criteria for this second phase last year. The consultation proposed making children from lower income working households eligible.
	We will set out our plans in due course.
	In the run up to September 2013, most if not all local authorities are already offering some funded early education places for two-year-olds. These places are being provided in accordance with locally set criteria, and the Department does not collect information on the work status of households receiving these places.

Procurement

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department has taken to ensure that companies which have advised his Department on organisational change as part of his Department's review do not obtain an unfair advantage in tenders within his Department.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 25 February 2013
	The Department for Education's procurement policy is to offer all contracting opportunities for competition unless there are exceptional reasons not to do so. It is also the Department's policy to ensure that, as far as possible, there is a level playing field for all tenderers by providing sufficient information as part of the bidding process to mitigate the competitive advantage that knowledge gained during previous work for the Department could give to a tenderer.
	External providers involved in the recent departmental review were required to sign an agreement which contained a clause on the use of confidential information. It states that all information shared as part of the departmental review should be used for the sole purpose of providing services and advice to the Department in respect of the departmental review and not otherwise in connection with its business or other activities (including future tenders).

Public Appointments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people he appointed to public bodies in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; (i) how many and (ii) what proportion of those appointees were (A) black or from an ethnic minority, (B) Hindu, (C) Muslim and (D) Chinese in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: Appointments to public bodies were made as follows:
	
		
			  Appointments/reappointments 
			 2010-11 20 
			 2011-12 22 
		
	
	The Commissioner for Public Appointments collates and publishes information on the number of appointments of candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds; however this information is not broken down by ethnic group. Copies of the 2010/11 and 2011/12 annual reports are available at:
	http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk
	Copies are available in the Libraries of the House. The Commissioner does not collect information regarding candidates' religion.

Sick Leave

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many days of paid sickness leave per individual member of staff are authorised in his Department on an annual basis;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to reduce sickness absence in his Department.

Elizabeth Truss: Between 1 February 2012 and 31 January 2013, the average number of working days lost per staff was 4.4.
	The average number of working days lost per staff for:
	2011-12 was 5.5;
	2010-11 was 6.0; and
	in 2009-10 was 6.4.
	The Department encourages proactive line management of staff that are unwell and provides a range of options to support and reduce absence. These include access to guidance on occupational health and employee assistance.

Staff

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) speechwriters, (b) press officers and (c) secretaries are assigned to work for him in his Department.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has:
	(a) one speechwriter, who also undertakes work for other Ministers.
	(b) no press officers exclusively assigned to work for him. The Department's 16
	press officers are expected to work to all six DFE ministers and across the whole of the Department's portfolio of responsibilities.
	(c) five private secretaries, including a principal private secretary and four private secretaries, three of whom have a management role in supporting other Ministers and their private offices.
	In 2009, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families had one speechwriter and four private secretaries. At this time the DCSF employed 23 press officers.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff were employed by his Department in each of the last five years; and at what grade or pay band such staff were appointed.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education was established on 10 May 2010. Figures for the Department and its predecessor the Department for Children Schools and Families are as follows:
	
		
			 Figures as at 31 December 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 EA 330 290 210 195 220 
			 EO 510 515 455 460 625 
			 HEO 615 650 575 635 745 
			 SEO 455 525 460 500 845 
			 G7 500 510 460 565 780 
			 G6 165 180 150 180 360 
			 SCS 115 120 115 125 165 
			 Total 2,690 2,785 2,430 2,660 3,740 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest five. 
		
	
	In March 2010, the DFE had 15 advisory and executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and two non-ministerial departments. From April 2012, only five out of the 17 remain. These are: the two non-ministerial departments which receive funding direct from HMT, Ofsted and Ofqual; two executive NDPBs, the Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) and the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (CAFCASS); and one advisory NDPB, the School Teachers Review Body.
	Four new executive agencies have been established: the Standards and Testing Agency (in October 2011); the Education and Funding Agency; the Teaching Agency; and the National College for School Leadership (in April 2012). Overall the full-time equivalent staffing figures for the departmental family has reduced by over a 1,000 since 2008.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff are based in each property used by his Department.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education and its Executive Agencies have the following number of staff based in each property.
	
		
			 Property Number of Staff 
			 Sanctuary Buildings, Central London 1,538 
			 33 Greycoat Street, Central London 112 
			 Bridge House, Guildford 44 
			 Freshford House, Bristol 34 
			 Earlsdon Park, Coventry 411 
			 Castleview House, Runcorn 224 
			 2 St Pauls Place, Sheffield 528 
			 Piccadilly Gate, Manchester 254 
			 Lime House, Nottingham 144 
			 National College for School Leadership, Nottingham 98 
			 Unit 1-3 Trust Court, Histon 24 
			 Mowden Hall, Darlington 469

University Technical Colleges

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress he has made on the development of university technical colleges.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 14 February 2013
	In addition to the five university technical colleges (UTCs) that have opened since 2010, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has approved a further 26, which are now preparing to open in either September 2013 or 2014. Since November 2012, the Department has been assessing new applications for UTCs and expects to announce the next wave of projects before the end of March this year.

Vetting

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what level of security vetting is required for staff working in his private office.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 25 February 2013
	The minimum level of security vetting required for staff working in the Secretary of State's Private Office is Counter Terrorist Check. For staff who handle protectively marked documents Security Check or Developed Vetting levels of security clearance are required dependent on the level of protective marking involved.

Vocational Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent steps he has taken to promote vocational education.

Matthew Hancock: This Government commissioned, and has been implementing, Professor Wolfs groundbreaking review of vocational education. We have already announced major changes to vocational qualifications and their teaching in schools and colleges. The expansion of apprenticeships and technical education is well under way. We will be offering study programmes to all 16 to 19-year-olds from September 2013 which will include the chance to take a substantial vocational qualification and undertake work placements. These changes will benefit around half of all young people and transform the quality and status of vocational education.

Yorkshire and the Humber

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff of his Department are employed in (a) Hull and (b) East Yorkshire.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department does not employ any staff in Hull or East Yorkshire.